April 1- The Philippines’ civil aviation agency has said that the country’s carriers are safe, thus discrediting the ban imposed by the European Union (EU). The ban on Philippine carriers followed a downgrading by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to category 2 from category 1 on safety ratings in November 2007.
“Even if The Philippines is listed by the EU, it does not mean that Philippine aircrafts are unsafe,” Alfonso Cusi, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said in a statement. “Our aircrafts meet the international standards in safety.
The agency has started hiring nearly 50 aviation safety experts, improved surveillance and inspection of air operators and will ground small domestic air operations if not certified by December 2010, he added.
