Author : Editor
President Aquino said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is working on regaining "Category 1" aviation safety status.
An audit team from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reportedly arriving in the Philippines this week to find out if the Philippine aviation body has complied with aviation safety standards.
“Right now, the CAAP is focused on regaining Category 1 status under the US FAA. A positive outcome will result in the expansion of our airlines' capacities, which will redound to a healthier aviation industry, more mobility for our people, and ultimately, a more robust and equitably progressive economy,” Aquino said in a speech during the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Philippine Academy for Aviation Training (PAAT), an aviation training center located at the Clark Freeport Zone.
It was earlier reported that the FAA team is scheduled to visit the CAAP from January 23 to 27 to conduct a technical review on whether the aviation body has complied with the significant safety concerns it discovered during its last inspection.
The FAA review comes three years after the Philippine aviation has been downgraded to Category 2 in July 2007. This was followed by the Universal Oversight Audit Programme in 2009 and then by the EU ban on Philippine carriers.
At the same time, Aquino hailed the ground-breaking of the PAAT facility in Clark.
The PAAT is a joint venture of Cebu Pacific Air and Canadian aviation training firm CAE, which provides simulation and modeling technologies and integrated training solutions for the aviation industry.
Aquino said this is proof of investors’ confidence in the Filipino’s talent and potential.
“In the spirit of the campaign recently launched by our Department of Tourism: soon we will be able to say that even aviation training is more fun in the Philippines,” he said.
The PAAT is expected to start operations in the third quarter of 2012 and would have a capacity to train more than 2,500 pilots annually, as well as other aviation professionals for Cebu Pacific Air and other airlines.
The total joint investment is valued at approximately $40 to 50 million.
Source : abs-cbnnews.com
