The U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration has downgraded Philippine
airline operations and put them under heightened
scrutiny because of their inadequate safety standards,
the U.S. Embassy said Tuesday.
The decision gives the
Philippines a Category 2 rating along with countries
such as Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia. It
means Philippine carriers can continue flying to the
U.S. but only "under heightened FAA surveillance," the
embassy said in a statement.
The embassy also
advised Americans flying to and from the Philippines to
use carriers from countries whose civil aviation
authorities meet international standards.
Only one of the
country's carriers, Philippine Airlines, currently flies
to the U.S. FAA rules stipulate that airlines from the
Philippines cannot expand services to the United States
under a Category 2 rating.
The FAA informed the
Philippine government it has "serious concerns" about
the oversight of Philippine air operations, which it
said did not comply with International Civil Aviation
Organization safety standards.
A spokesman for the
Philippine Transport Department, Thompson Lantion, did
not dispute the downgrade and said his department would
conduct an in-house investigation to determine the
shortcomings and fix them.
He said it the
Philippine Congress must pass proposed legislation to
create a Civil Aviation Authority to help modernize the
country's system, and must secure more funds for safety
and aircraft maintenance.
Both houses of the
Philippine Congress have already approved the bill, but
it still needs to be ratified in a joint session and
signed by the president.
The head of the Air
Transportation Office, Daniel Dimagiba, told the
Business Mirror newspaper that his annual budget of $32
million was spent mostly on salaries and operating
expenses. He said the office would need at least another
$24 million to upgrade navigational equipment and
communications _ money that would become available when
the CAA is set up.
On its Web site, the
FAA says the Category 2 rating means the country lacks
laws or regulations needed for the certification and
oversight of airlines under minimum international
standards.
Philippine Airlines
President Jaime Bautista said the downgrade dampened
hopes of increasing its 33 flights a week to the U.S.
Also affected will be the delivery of six new Boeing
777-300ER airplanes ordered by the airline, he said.
He said the FAA rating
does not reflect on the airline itself, but is an
assessment of the government's compliance with
international safety rules.