Philippines Approves MC99 Rules Application In The Country

By Marvin Sy

11 August 2015

The Senate has given its concurrence to two treaties on aviation, including one that would provide passengers with greater protection and fairer compensation whenever accidents occur during their flights.

With the concurrence given by the Senate yesterday, the 1999 Montreal Resolution for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (MC99) and the Protocol Relating to an Amendment to the Convention on International Civil Aviation would now take effect in the country.

MC99 establishes new rules on the liability of airline carriers in cases of accidental death or injury to passengers and the destruction, loss, damage or delay in the carriage of baggage or cargo.


Based on the report submitted by the Senate committee on foreign relations headed by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, MC99 would provide a new liability system that is expected to minimize costly litigation.

The Convention allows a wider choice of jurisdictions for bringing claims by allowing a damage suit for accidental deaths or injuries to passengers to be brought to the country where the passenger involved resides and where the concerned carrier also operates.

Many of the Philippines’ key trading partners are reportedly already parties to the Convention and when the ASEAN integration finally takes effect, inter-regional flights are expected to increase.

“The Philippines’ ratification of this Convention will prove to be timely and beneficial, resulting in a fairer liability regime that will protect passengers traveling from and to the Philippines,” a committee report read.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has been supportive of the universal ratification of MC99, which it says would modernize and unify “all of the different international treaty regimes covering airline liability that have developed haphazardly since 1929.”

CAAP issues first 'drone' license

RP U001A and RP U002A
First RP-registered UAV

9 July 2015

By Raoul Esperas
ABS-CBN News
The Philippine aviation regulator has certified Thursday the engineering company SRDP Consulting, Inc., as the country’s first authorized operator of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has issued the first unmanned aerial vehicle license and certificate of authorization to operate a "drone" for commercial purposes.

Lt. Gen. William Hotchkiss, director general of CAAP, issued the license to Joel Cruz, the owner of SRDP Engineering and Consulting to operate two of their unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or more popularly known as "drones."

Hotchkiss said the historical issuance of license and certification to operate the drone is a mandatory requirement for all owners of large UAV units that they use for commercial business.

Hotchkiss added that they also encourage all UAV operators that use their drone for personal purposes to also register their unit for safety and security reasons.

"Let us all be good citizens and keep our sky safe for the aircraft and it's passengers," Hotchkiss said.

Cruz, meanwhile, said that as a professional company engaged in engineering and aerial typography, they are honored to be the first commercial UAV operator to register their drone.

The two UAVs are now officially registered as RP U001A and RP U002A. SRDP or the registered license operator, Cruz, will now be required to file the necessary flight plan whenever he plans to use the drone.

Capt. Efren Rocamora of CAAP safety standards, however, reminded Cruz that the 10-kilometer radius for no-fly zone on all airports in the Philippines still applies even if he is a registered UAV operator.

Rocamora is also urging all UAV owners for sports or hobby purposes to register their drones with CAAP.

EU Lifts PH Blacklist

Clears All PH-Based Airlines

26 June 2015

The European Union has lifted the ban on all airlines from the Philippines effective yesterday, and are therefore allowed to operate in the European airspace according to the european Commission.

"After 5 years of hard work we are finally able to clear the airlines certified in the Philippines from the European Air Safety List,"says Violeta Bulc, EU Commissioner for Transport.

Accordording to the EU commissioner, the Philippines is an important country with a sizeable and rapidly growing aviation sector.

"Today's result can serve as an example for other countries which have difficulty to match their safety oversight capabilities with the growth of their industry." she adds.

The European Union has been working in close cooperation with the Philippines to raise safety standards and improve airline compliance with essential and internationally recognised safety levels.

The European Commission – in close consultation with ICAO – decided to ban all airlines in the Philippines from operating in European airspace in 2010 because they are found to be unsafe and/or they are not sufficiently overseen by their authorities. However, recent inspection conducted in April of this year showed that they are already effectively monitored by Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

The positive review given by the five-man safety assessment team headed by Capt. Richard Miller, together with Per-Erik Oberg, Vincent Lambotte, Sebastian Zacharias and Mureil Belzunce all from the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) from their oversight review conducted on April 16 to 24 opened the door for all Philippine commercial airlines to operate in European skies again should they wished to fly Europe.

The oversight review has led to the suspension of AOC of Seair International ang Skyjet which has already been restored following compliance with Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations (PCAR). -

CAA Lifts SEAIR, SKYJET Suspensions

8 July 2015

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has lifted Suspension orders imposed on Seair International and Magnum Air (Skyjet) Inc. after both airlines complied with reportorial requirements amidst safety concerns addressed to them by European Union Aviation regulator.

CAAP in a statement said the May 15 suspension orders on the Air Operators Certificates (AOCs) of the two airlines were lifted after corrective measures were introduced by the airlines after they were assessed safety breaches by EASA inspection audit in April.

The airlines however would remain under intensive surveillance by CAAP until actual flight data monitoring reports are submitted to the agency.

Seair flies from Manila to Basco, Caticlan, and Tablas, while Skyjet mounts flights from Manila to Basco and Busuanga.

The European Aviation Safety Agency has been assessing the countries airlines following repeated failures to comply with international aviation standards in the past. To date only Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific got safety clearance to fly the European Union.

Court Lets Skyjet Fly

Amidst Safety Violations

25 May 2015

The Regional Trial Court of Pasay City has cut short the regulatory authority of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for 20 days after it granted temporary restraining order forbidding the agency to ground Magnum Air, better known as Skyjet.

And that means flight safety is to be determined by the courts as it found the May 18 suspension Order "premature" without prior investigation and examination of the aircraft.

This is the first time in Philippine aviation history that an airline operator questioned the legality of a suspension order from Civil Aviation Authority concerning safety issues.

Skyjet has been found by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to be deficient in eight areas of safety regulations provided under Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations (PCAR) ranging from flight data monitoring, quality control, airworthiness, and maintenance control.

EASA inspected Skyjet's compliance from April 16-24, 2015 as they examined CAA's safety oversight of Philippine carriers.

In the complaint by Skyjet, CAAAP issued a suspension order on May 15 on the basis of intensive investigation conducted by the agency but it cannot present the basis of its investigation to the airline concerned and that its suspension was premature and without basis.

Director General William Hotchkiss III maintained that Skyjet was already notified of their shortcomings last year but failed to rectify the issue and it took EASA audit to blow them out in the open which resulted to the suspension of their Airline Operators Certificate (AOC).

Magnum Air President Dino Reyes Chua stated that the airlines undue grounding by CAAP has caused them irreparable injury and damage by stranding 2,600 affected passengers and lost business opportunity to the tune of 20 million pesos.

Skyjet operates a pair of BAE146-100 planes and D328 for flights to Basco, Caticlan, and Busuanga.

Massive airline complaints is validating the EASA and CAAP findings. Horror stories  can be read here. 

EU Updates Safety List of Banned Airlines

10 July 2013

Brussels

The European Commission has updated today for the 21st time the European list of airlines subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union, better known as "the EU air safety list". 

Following improvements in the safety situation in the Philippines, Philippine Airlines is the first airline from this country allowed back into European skies since 2010. 

The same is true for the Venezuelan airline Conviasa, which was banned in 2012. Progress was also noted in Libya but the Libyan authorities agreed that Libyan airlines would not be allowed to operate in Europe until they are fully re-certified to the satisfaction of the European Union.

Siim Kallas, Commission Vice-President responsible for transport, said: "The EU air safety list was created for the protection of European skies and citizens, but it can also serve as a wake-up call to countries and airlines in need to get their safety house back in order. Today we confirmed our willingness to remove countries and airlines from the list if they show real commitment and capacity to implement international safety standards in a sustainable manner. Beside Philippines, Venezuela and Mauritania, good signs of progress are also coming from a number of other African countries."

The new list replaces and updates the previous one, adopted in December 2012, and can be consulted on the Commission’s website¹.

Taking into account the improved safety oversight provided by the competent authorities of the Philippines, and the ability of the air carrier Philippine Airlines to ensure effective compliance with relevant aviation safety regulations, and following an on-site safety assessment visit last June, it was decided to lift the ban affecting this carrier registered in the Philippines. For all other carriers registered in the Philippines the ban remains.

Conviasa, registered in Venezuela, was also removed from the EU air safety list, following the successful resolution of the serious safety deficiencies which led to its ban from EU skies in April 2012. These improvements were proved during consultations with the Commission and the EU's Agency for aviation safety (EASA), and through recent audits performed by Spain and by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Venezuela.

In December 2012 Mauritania became the first country to be fully removed from the EU air safety list, where it was added in 2010. The improvements that led to this decision were verified during an on-site safety assessment visit conducted by the Commission in April 2013. 

Consultations were held with the civil aviation authorities of Libya. Progress was noted by the Committee, but the Libyan civil aviation authorities agreed to maintain the voluntary restrictions applicable to all airlines licensed in Libya. This voluntary restriction excludes Libyan airlines from flying into the EU until when they will be fully recertified in accordance with international safety standards. The on-going implementation of these measures will remain under close monitoring by the Commission and the EU Air Safety Committee.

The Commission also praised the good progress in Sudan as well as in Mozambique.

The Commission recognised the efforts of the safety oversight authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Libya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Philippines, Russia and Sudan to reform their civil aviation system and to improve safety, in order to eventually become able to guarantee the effective application of international safety standards. The Commission continues to actively provide support and assistance for these reforms in cooperation with ICAO, EU Member States and EASA.

Further updates to the EU air safety list were due to the removal of some airlines that ceased to exist and the addition of new ones recently created in a number of banned countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique, Sudan and the Philippines. 

Finally, Annex B of the EU air safety list (which contains carriers allowed to operate in the EU but under strict limitations and conditions) was amended in order to reflect the renewal of the fleet of Air Madagascar (permitted to use an additional aircraft) and of Air Astana from Kazakhstan (the old Fokker aircraft not anymore in use were deleted from the Annex).

Today's Commission decision was based on the unanimous opinion of the EU Air Safety Committee in which safety experts from each of the 28 Member States participate, as well as from Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and EASA. 

Background information

The updated EU air safety list includes all airlines certified in 20 States, for a total of 278 airlines fully banned from EU skies: Afghanistan, Angola, Benin, Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon (with the exception of 3 airlines which operate under restrictions and conditions), Indonesia (with the exception of 5 airlines), Kazakhstan (with the exception of one airline which operates under restrictions and conditions), Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Mozambique, Philippines (with the exception of one airline), Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Swaziland and Zambia. The list also includes 2 individual airlines: Blue Wing Airlines from Surinam and Meridian Airways from Ghana, for a grand total of 280 airlines. 

Additionally, the list includes 10 airlines subject to operational restrictions and thus allowed to operate into the EU under strict conditions: Air Astana from Kazakhstan, Afrijet, Gabon Airlines, and SN2AG from Gabon, Air Koryo from the Democratic People Republic of Korea, Airlift International from Ghana, Air Service Comores from the Comores, Iran Air from Iran, TAAG Angolan Airlines from Angola and Air Madagascar from Madagasca.

For more information:

Contacts : Helen Kearns (+32 2 298 76 38) Dale Kidd (+32 2 295 74 61)