PAL: Unsafe flights claim part of ‘black propaganda’

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines reassured passengers on Sunday evening of the safety of its flights as it belied insinuations that overworked staff and untrained personnel are endangering its operations since it spun off three of its non-core businesses last Oct. 1. In a note on its Facebook account, PAL dismissed as "black propaganda" allegations that it said came from some former PAL employees. It said it expects more black propaganda to come. “We assure our passengers that all aircraft utilized in our flights are released only after thorough assessment and safety checks," PAL president and COO Jaime Bautista said in the Facebook note. Over the weekend, Gerry Rivera, head of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA), called on the Tourism Congress for an investigation of passenger safety issues at PAL. “We ask the Tourism Congress to take up the cudgels for the riding public by inquiring about safety and service concerns at PAL given that overworked and untrained replacement workers are now servicing passengers. If the Tourism Congress is anxious about the impact of the labor dispute on the influx of tourists, then it should also be worried about any possible accidents due to unsafe work practices by contractual workers," he said. PALEA cited news reports that two Danish tourists backed out of a PAL flight to Cebu over safety concerns. It said the two reportedly questioned PAL’s replacement workers at the check-in counter including a supervisor about safety issues but were left unsatisfied with the answers. PAL is working to normalize its operations after spinning off three non-core businesses, which its then ground crew union had claimed would render 2,600 workers jobless. Over the weekend, it claimed it had normalized its international flights. More "disinformation" expected Bautista said they expect "disinformation" to escalate especially since some disgruntled employees are getting "desperate by the day." “We hope our passengers will carefully discern fact from the fiction being peddled by those out to destroy the flag carrier’s good name and reputation," he said. He cited as one example of "black propaganda" the allegations that "overworked" PAL staff and untrained personnel were compromising airline safety. “Former PAL ground workers are so used to working less than their 7.5-hour daily shift for five days, such that they consider our volunteers’ eight-hour shifts, six days a week as ‘overwork,'" he said. “Even claims that an airstep bumped and caused damage to one of PAL’s Airbus A340s is a fabrication concocted by (PAL Employees' Association president Gerry) Rivera and his cohorts. All our aircraft undergo regular checks and no such damage has been found by PAL’s Aircraft Engineering Department and Lufthansa Technik, PAL’s maintenance provider," he added. Bautista reiterated that safety is the cornerstone of PAL’s operations, adding the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has a surveillance inspection team especially assigned to PAL. He said all PAL aircraft are maintained by Lufthansa Technik Philippines and other reputable maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies abroad. All safety regulations are likewise complied with particularly those enforced by CAAP, US Federal Aviation Administration and US Transport Security Administration, as well as regular safety checks under the stringent IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), he said. PAL is the only IOSA-certified Philippine carrier, he added. “Apart from strict security checks, PAL flights also undergo a final safety check by our highly-trained and experienced pilots. A PAL plane will not take off until pilots are fully satisfied with the aircraft's airworthiness and only after they have determined the safe load of passengers and cargo," he added. Bautista said PAL’s current corps of admin volunteers, former union members who joined the service providers and new hires all underwent proper training and certification prior to handling official ground duties. — KBK, GMA News