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No less than the United States government, through its embassy in Manila, warned American nationals in the Philippines to refrain from using Philippine-based carriers due to "serious concerns" about the Air Transportation Office's (ATO) alleged mishandling of the aviation industry.

"Whenever possible, Americans traveling to and from the Philippines should fly to their destinations on international carriers from countries whose civil aviation authorities meet international aviation safety standards for the oversight of their air carrier operations under the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment program," a statement from the US embassy Web site (manila.usembassy.gov) said.

The January 15 warning, coursed through the embassy's "Warden System" said the information was transmitted as a "public service" to Americans in the Philippines.

The warning stemmed from a Dec. 26, 2007 advisory from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

"[The FAA] has revised the Philippines' aviation safety oversight category from Category 1 to Category 2 due to serious concerns about the Philippine Air Transportation Office's oversight of air carrier operations," the FAA said.

Category 2 indicates that the FAA has assessed the Philippine government's civil aviation authority as not being in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards for the oversight of air carrier operations.

"While in Category 2, Philippine air carriers will be permitted to continue current operations to the United States, but will be under heightened FAA surveillance," the advisory added.

In reaction...
The Philippine government, meanwhile, ordered an air safety audit after a downgrading by US regulators hit its national flag carrier, a senior official said Wednesday.

It followed an announcement by the FAA that it had downgraded the country's ratings from Category 1 to Category 2 to reflect safety concerns.

The revision affects Philippine Airlines (PAL), the only Filipino airline that flies to the United States -- routes which account for 30 percent of its operating revenues.

Among the FAA's concerns were outdated aviation regulations, poor training programs for safety inspectors, and sub-standard licensing for air frame and engine inspectors.

PAL said the FAA downgrade meant it would not be allowed to fly to new US cities or change the type of aircraft used on existing US destinations.

In a statement, Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza said he had ordered a review into the deficiencies identified by the FAA, and vowed to rectify the problems.

He said the ATO, which is responsible for regulating air safety in the Philippines, was working with experts from the ICAO to address the problems.

Mendoza promised the government would "tap its available resources" to provide the solutions.

"In effect the ATO has addressed and [is] continuously addressing the other deficiencies as per the FAA safety audit," he said.

He also urged Congress to speed up passage of a bill that would create a civil aviation authority of the Philippines to replace the ATO.

PAL said Tuesday that the Category 2 rating bars it from increasing its 33 flights a week to the US and its territories, and from changing the type or increasing the number of aircraft on those routes.

The rating will also negatively impact PAL's plans to open service to San Diego, Chicago, New York and Saipan.

PAL currenty flies 33 times a week to US, particularly to Los Angeles (11 flights), San Francisco (9), Las Vegas via Vancouver (5), Honolulu (3) and Guam (5).

Travel agencies: RP will feel pinch
The Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA), meanwhile, warned that the downgrade in rating given by the FAA may curb growth of the country's tourism sector.

In a statement, PTAA said that the move poses serious effect on traffic between the Philippines and the US.

"At a time when the Philippines is experiencing positive growth in tourism arrivals, this recent development will serve to curtail some of the gains made by the Department of Tourism and the tourism private sector in the North American market."

Arrivals from North America constituted the third-largest group that visited the Philippines last year, PTAA said.

PTTA urged the government to take necessary steps to rectify the lower rating given by the US aviation regulator to the Philippines.

The country was included in the FAA's list of 21 countries that failed to "provide safety oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the minimum safety oversight standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization."

The country's Category 1 rating was downgraded to Category 2, which means that the Philippine aviation industry has no sufficient qualified personnel, infrastructure and equipment. With a report from Agence France-Presse


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