RP carriers banned from flying to EU countries

Citing failure to comply with international safety standards, the European Union has blocked Philippine airliners from flying to its 27 member countries. Sudanese airlines were also banned from European Union countries. "The European Commission has adopted today the 13th update of the Community’s list of airlines banned in the European Union to include all air carriers of two additional countries: Sudan and the Philippines, on the basis of safety assessments by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)," the commission said in a statement made public on Tuesday. No Philippine airline currently has direct flights to Europe. But according to the New York Times, "under the terms of the ban, all European travel agencies will be obliged to inform customers if they plan to travel on a blacklisted carrier. Travelers who have booked a seat on a blacklisted carrier have the right to have their reservation changed to another airline or to have their airfare reimbursed." European Commission vice president Siim Kallas added that "safety comes first… We cannot accept that airlines fly into the EU if they do not fully comply with international safety standards." “PAL laments that the EC decision came about notwithstanding PAL’s safety record, as borne out by its compliance with internationally accepted safety standards," Philippine Airlines (PAL) said in a statement. “PAL would like to assure the riding public that safety remains the bedrock of PAL’s operations. It has always been the flag carrier’s policy to ensure that its passengers fly with the full assurance of safety and comfort," it added. The commission said it is willing to support countries that need to beef up efforts to meet safety standards in civil aviation. "It is ready to support the Philippines to overcome serious safety deficiencies," it said. It also acknowledged the efforts made by the "Philippine Airlines and Cebu Airlines [Cebu Pacific Air]" to ensure safety operations, to improve the civil aviation system in the Philippines, and to address the recommendation by the US Federal Aviation Authority and the ICAO. But the commission said it would forbid those airlines from flying into the 27-country EU bloc as a precaution until its remaining concerns could be addressed. It added that Brussels (EU headquarters) was prepared to send a delegation of safety experts to visit the country. PAL, the country’s flag carrier, is the only local airline registered to fly to the EU. Its last commercial flight there was in 1999. RP: Our carriers are safe The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines maintained that Philippine carriers are safe. "Even if the Philippines is listed by the EU, it does not mean that Philippine carriers are unsafe," a Reuters report quoted CAAP newly-appointed head Alfonso Cusi as saying. Malacañang also said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was leaving the matter in Cusi’s hands. The EU was not the first international organization to take note of the Philippine civil aviation system. In November 2007, the US Federal Aviation Authority downgraded the Philippines’ safety ratings from Category 1 to Category 2, after finding the country as an "unsafe port of origin." Countries that fall under category 1 are those which comply with aviation safety standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization while those that fall under category 2 are those that do not. Last February 2010, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said the downgrading has stunted Philippine tourism coming from North America because PAL can no longer execute its expansion of flights after it acquired Boeing-777 jumbo jets. 17 countries blocked While it banned Sudanese and Philippine carriers, the European Commission partially lifted its restrictions on North Korea’s Air Koryo and Angola’s TAAG “under certain conditions. With the addition of Sudan and the Philippines on the blacklisted countries, there are now 278 airliners from 17 nations banned from flying to European Union member countries. These are: Angola, Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Philippines, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Swaziland and Zambia. — RSJ/HGS, GMANews.TV