MANILA, Philippines Malacaang vows to make sure the country complies with international aviation safety standards to retain

the Category 1 status given by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In a radio interview on Saturday, April 12, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government will make sure
there would be no significant safety concerns that could be raised anew against the Philippines.
The country regained on Thursday a Category 1 rating from US FAA after the European Union (EU) lifted a ban it imposed on
Philippine carriers.
A Category 1 standing means Philippine aviation has complied with international safety standards set by the United Nations'
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Valte said this good development would benefit the passengers as airline companies would have increased flights and new
destinations.
"As the Philippines goes from strength to strength as a desirable tourist destination, these upgrades add momentum to the
realization around the world of a truth we have always known: that it is more fun in the Philippines," she said.
The Philippines used to hold a Category 1 rating until January 2008, when it was downgraded to Category 2 by the FAA.
A Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with
minimum international standards, or its civil aviation authority is deficient in one or more areas such as technical expertise,
trained personnel, record keeping or inspection procedures.
Malacaang earlier lauded the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Civil Aviation Authority of
the Philippines (CAAP) for the commitment and hard work they "demonstrated in rectifying the lapses and inaction of the past."
CAAP, for its part, said it needs to hire young people to make sure that Category I is maintained. (READ: CAAP needs 'young
blood' to keep Category 1 status)
Valte said this development has confirmed "that the Philippines works that a government committed to true service can
reverse the negative conditions of the past, and work with the private sector to put in place firm foundations for even greater
success: that of the Philippine aviation and tourism industries, and, more importantly, that of our thrust for inclusive growth."
MANILA, Philippines - Six years after being barred from expanding services in the United States due to safety concerns,
Philippine carriers are now allowed more flights to US destinations after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restored
the Category 1 status of the local commercial aviation industry.
Ambassador Philip Goldberg made the announcement yesterday on his Twitter account @AMBGoldberg.
Good News! Philippines compliance with international #aviation safety oversight standards earn Category 1 Safety Rating,
Goldberg tweeted.
The Philippines was downgraded to Category 2 status in 2008.
This upgrade cements a landmark era in the Philippine aviation sector. From one major achievement to another in a span of less
than two years, the country has made great strides in enhancing its aviation industry to one that is at par with the best in the
world, Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said.
He cited an earlier lifting of a European ban on local carriers also due to safety concerns.
He lauded the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) led by Lt. Gen. William Hotchkiss III and Capt. John Andrews
for working vigorously to address the remaining aviation safety concerns raised by the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) of the United Nations.
We congratulate the CAAP for a job well done in ensuring the lifting of the ICAOs significant safety concerns, the lifting of
the European ban on local airlines, and now, the FAA upgrade to Category 1, the DOTC chief said.
There are no more restrictions, Andrews said in a television interview. We are now world-class as far as the aviation industry
is concerned.
A country on Category 2 status means it lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum
international standards, or that its civil aviation authority equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters is deficient in
one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping or inspection procedures.
Goldberg personally handed over to Hotchkiss a letter from FAA associate administrator for aviation safety Margaret Gilligan
confirming the upgrade to Category 1.
Abaya pointed out that the upgrade would boost the countrys tourism industry, help airline companies expand their operations,
and improve trade and business relations between the Philippines and the US.
Philippine air carriers can now open more flights to the United States and have additional routes such as flying to the East
Coast, Abaya said.
Carmelo Arcilla, executive director of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), said the development affirms the resolve of CAAP to
show that Philippine aviation is at par with international standards
This means that the incumbent Philippine carriers, particularly PAL, may now expand operations into the US. Other carriers
that meet operational requirements in terms of equipment and organization may now apply for designation as official Philippine
carriers for the purpose of operating in the Philippine-US market, he said in a text message.
Ultimately, this is a triumph not just for the government or our carriers, but for the riding public that will have improved
options for air travel that are assuredly world class, he added.
Hard work
PAL, jointly owned by taipan Lucio Tan and conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), is in the middle of a massive re-fleeting
program involving the acquisition of 100 new aircraft in anticipation of mounting long haul flights to US and Europe.
Your flag carrier welcomes the return of the countrys aviation rating to Category 1. This is a culmination of the governments
hard work, as exemplified by the efforts of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to upgrade the countrys international
safety standards, PAL president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said.
This latest development allows us to deploy our modern and fuel-efficient Boeing 777-300ER fleet to the US, and enables us to
explore new destination opportunities in one of the Philippines largest passenger markets, he said.
Ang added that the upgrade would also allow PAL to explore partnerships with foreign carriers to maximize its growth potential.
He said PAL is likely to realize savings of $100 million in fuel and maintenance costs per year from newer and more fuel-
efficient aircraft.
Currently, PAL operates a total of 26 weekly flights to the US, with frequencies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and
Guam.
The flag carrier said it would deploy six Boeing 777-300ERs, amounting to $1.2 billion, for US flights within a months time.
For its flights to Honolulu and Guam, PAL will continue to utilize new wide body Airbus A330-300s and single-aisle A320-200s.
PAL, Asias first airline, entered into two separate purchase agreements with Airbus in August and September 2012.
The first purchase agreement worth $7 billion is for 44 Airbus A320 aircraft and options for 20 Airbus A320 for delivery
beginning this year to 2020, while the other agreement worth $2.5 billion is for a firm order for 10 Airbus A330-300 aircraft
and options for 10 aircraft for delivery up to 2016.
Based on its website, the airline has an operating fleet of 53 aircraft consisting of six Boeing 777-300ER, four Boeing 747-400,
eight Airbus A340-300, 13 A330-300, 12 A320-200, six A321-231 and four A319-100.
PAL got the green light from the European Union in July last year to service European destinations, paving the way for the
launch of direct flights to London in November.
On the other hand, budget airline Cebu Pacific (Cebu Air) of John Gokongwei Jr. is also looking at mounting flights to the US.
Cebu Pacific has embarked on a $4-billion re-fleeting program involving the acquisition of 49 Airbus aircraft. Shares of
Philippine Airlines rose by as much as 2.9 percent, while Cebu Air climbed as much as 4.3 percent in early trading after the FAA
announcement.
Tony Fernandes, chief executive of low-cost carrier AirAsia, welcomed the FAA upgrade.
Great news Philippines they have got back category status from FAA, he said on Twitter. Means Air Asia Philippines can now
have access to routes.
Economic diplomacy
Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. said steering back the country to Category 1 status has been one of our major
economic diplomacy thrusts in the United States.
With the Category 1 rating, we hope to see the expansion of flight routes in the US by Philippine air carriers, he said.
This means opening up more routes for business and tourism travel between the Philippines and the US as well as creating more
opportunities for Philippine and American business, he added.

Timeline
Jan. 17, 2008 The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) downgraded the Philippines rating to Category 2 from Category 1,
since its Air Transportation Office (ATO) did not fully satisfy international safety standards. The FAA decision prevented
Philippine Airlines (PAL) from increasing its US flights from 33 per week.
April 1, 2010 The European Union, following the FAAs lead, banned Philippine carriers from flying to Europe.
June 19, 2010 Vital navigation equipment at the Manila international airport maintained by CAAP failed. The VHF
omnidirectional range (VOR) used by aircraft for navigating to and from the airport stopped working due to heavy rain and no
replacement was available.
Feb. 18-22, 2013 The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) of the United Nations conducted an audit on the
Philippines regarding the remaining significant safety concerns (SSCs).
March 7, 2013 The ICAO officially delisted the Philippines from its tally of member states with unresolved SSCs. The ICAO
Council formally stated that the Philippines has implemented corrective actions in accordance with the mechanism approved by
the Council to resolve two SSCs the issuance of air operator certificates and the aircraft registration process.
July 10, 2013 EU Ambassador to the Philippines Guy Ledoux announced the lifting of a ban on PAL from flying into its airspace
after the national carrier resolved aviation safety concerns starting July 12, 2013. PAL president and CEO Ramon Ang said the
airline intends to mount direct flights to London, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam.
Nov. 1, 2013 PAL mounts direct flights to London.
Nov. 23, 2013 A team composed of US-FAA division manager for Flights Standards Service John Barbagallo and area manager
for Asia Pacific James Spillane was supposed to visit the country but the audit did not push through.
Jan. 20, 2014 A team from US-FAA conducted the audit.
Jan. 28, 2014 Cebu Pacific informed the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DGMOVE) of the EU in Brussels that
the low-cost carrier has complied with all the outstanding aviation safety concerns just like national flag carrier PAL.
March 26, 2014 A team headed by Barbagallo conducted a validating audit on the findings of the audit conducted by a team
last January.
Cebu Pacific was also invited to attend the Air Safety Committee meeting of the EU in Brussels.
April 10, 2014 The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announced the upgrading to Category 1 status by the US
FAA through its website and the concurrent visit of US Ambassador Philip Goldberg to the office of CAAP Director General
William Hotchkiss III to inform him that the Philippines has been upgraded to Category 1.
A letter dated April 9, 2014 confirming the upgrade from Margaret Gilligan, associate administrator for aviation safety of the
US-FAA, was personally handed over by Goldberg to Hotchkiss. Philippine carriers will now be allowed to mount additional flights
to and from the US as well as add new routes to the US. With Pia Lee-Brago, Rudy Santos
More than six years after the country was first downgraded to Category 2 status by the US FAA, the Philippines has finally
clawed its way back to the highly coveted Category 1 designation. With the favourable announcement, Philippine carriers can now
add new routes and increase frequencies to the United States in addition to code-sharing with US carriers. But the road to get
to this important position in the nation's aviation history has been anything but smooth.
The road to Category 1 status began when the Civil Aviation Authority began working to lift the Philippines off the International
Civil Aviation Organization's list of nations with significant aviation safety concerns. It was upon the recommendation of the
ICAO that the Philippines was downgraded by the US FAA to Category 2 status in January of 2008.
In March of 2013, the Civil Aviation Authority announced that it had successfully passed an audit conducted by the ICAO the
previous month. The audit was to serve as a validation mission to confirm the corrective actions that had been undertaken by
CAAP to improve safety and oversight of civil aviation in the country. Only with the approval of the International Civil Aviation
Organization could the Philippines begin to seek the approval of the international aviation community. The passing of the audit in
March 2013 triggered the ICAO to lift the Philippines off its list of nations with significant aviation safety concerns.
Following the lifting of the ICAO concerns, the Civil Aviation Authority proceeded to work with European Union aviation
regulators to lift Philippine carriers off the European blacklist which prevented any local airlines from flying to the European
Union. The European Union placed the Philippines on its aviation blacklist in 2010. While the ban was lifted off of Philippine
Airlines in July 2013, it remained in place for Cebu Pacific, which still had more work to do in order to bring the airline up to
international standards. Eight months later, that work is now complete and an announcement was made this month that the
European ban had been lifted off of Cebu Pacific paving the way for the airline to mount its first flights to Europe.
Given the favourable news from the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Union, the Civil Aviation
Authority had expected to be upgraded to Category 1 status by the end of 2013. Even Deputy Director General John Andrews
placed his job on the line publicly announcing that he would resign if the Philippines did not receive its upgrade.
The United States Federal Aviation Administration began deploying a number of teams to the Philippines in May 2013 to
conduct mini-audits to ensure that the country remained in compliance with international civil aviation safety standards. After
each audit, a number of corrective measures were given to the Civil Aviation Authority to address. It was not until the most
recent audit last month that the US FAA finally gave the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines a clean bill of health
indicating that they had passed the audit triggering the upgrade to Category 1 status.
Now that the Civil Aviation Authority has been successful in getting FAA Category 1 status restored, the true test will begin as
the national aviation regulator must maintain the status and sustain the enhanced aviation safety measures. The process is on-
going and Federal Aviation Authority inspectors will be back again in the future to ensure that the country is maintaining
adequate safety oversight.
US Federal Aviation Safety Standards
In order to qualify for Category 1 status, a country "must adhere to the safety standards of the ICAO, the United Nations'
technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and
maintenance."
As part of its program, the US Federal Aviation Administration assesses each of the national civil aviation regulators in all
countries that have applied to fly to the United States, currently fly to the US, or participate in code-sharing arrangements
with US carriers. The assessments are designed to determine whether or not a foreign civil aviation regulator is in compliance
with ICAO safety standards.
The Philippines maintained Category 1 status until it was downgraded to Category 2 in January 2008. The Category 2 rating
refers to countries that either lack regulations or laws necessary in order to maintain adequate safety oversight of local
airlines in accordance with international aviation standards, or its local civil aviation regulator is deficient in one or more areas
including record keeping, inspection procedures, trained personnel, and technical expertise.
Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Abaya referred to the favourable announcement as a landmark
development in the Philippine aviation industry. "This upgrade cements a landmark era in the Philippine aviation sector," said
Abaya. "From one major achievement to another in a span of less than 2 years, the country has made great strides in enhancing
its aviation industry to one that is at par with the best in the world."
He added that the achievement is expected to improve economic ties between the Philippines and the United States. "This will
allow airline carriers to open more direct flights to and from the US, which will boost the country's tourism industry, help
airline companies expand their operations, and improve trade and business relations between the two countries," Abaya said.
"We congratulate the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines for a job well done in ensuring the lifting of the International
Civil Aviation Organization's significant safety concerns, the lifting of the European ban on local airlines, and now, the FAA
upgrade to Category 1. Truly, your accomplishments prove that good governance and competent leadership will be the legacy of
President Aquino."
In a separate statement, the Philippine Ambassador to the United States, Jose Cuisia Jr, added that the upgrade has brought a
"major economic diplomacy thrust" between the Philippines and the United States. "With the Category 1 rating, we hope to see
the expansion of flight routes in the United States by Philippine air carriers," said Cuisia. "This means opening up more routes
for business and tourism travel between the Philippines and the US as well as creating more opportunities for Philippine and
American businesses."