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The Philippines' government and civil aviation sectors are preparing for the visit in October by an official team of the European Union (EU) to conduct an audit on progress in improving safety standards and procedures, the chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said.

Alfonso G. Cusi, CAAP director general, said in a telephone interview that his office has asked the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to provide a detailed agenda for the visit on Oct.18-22.

"We’re hoping to get the union’s reply as soon as possible to prepare for the visit," he said. "The visit has been scheduled in October because the European Union Air Safety Conference is scheduled in November. We’re hoping to get positive feedback from them so that the representatives could relay that to other union members in the conference."

The outcome of the visit will be discussed and reviewed by EU members in the conference that will be held in Brussels, Belgium.

Mr. Cusi said the visit is a "perfect opportunity for the country to convince the union that it has improved the security and safety standards of its aviation industry" after the EU banned Philippine carriers last April from flying to the organization’s 27 member states.

The move was after the announcement by the International Civil Aviation Organization in October last year of a "Significant Safety Concern" relating to poor government oversight of safety in the industry and the earlier downgrading of the Philippines’ safety rating by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

EASA is the civilian aviation regulator of the EU based in Cologne, Germany that enforces safety standards and authorizes non-EU flag carriers to service the region.

"We are also hoping to get clearance for the two major carriers of the Philippines which are Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific," Mr. Cusi said.

"Actually, Cebu Pacific never had flights to any EU country," he clarified. "But as one of the major airlines here, we have to get it cleared, according to the union’s standards."

PAL President Jaime J. Bautista told reporters at the sidelines of the company’s stockholders’ meeting yesterday that the flag carrier has been always prepared for the inspection. "We hope to have the ban lifted as soon as possible," he said.

PAL and Cebu Pacific representatives met EU aviation officials last June to update them on the two carriers’ upgraded security and safety procedures after getting new operating certificates from CAAP. However, the airlines were unable to convince the body to drop the Philippines from its black list.

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