Air Juan Aviation (AO, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) and all other Filipino carriers have been removed from the European Union's Banned Operators List the bloc said in a statement issued last week. The EU banned all Filipino carriers from operating in its airspace in March 2010 after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) issued a Serious Safety Concern (SSC) against the Philippines for failing a Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) inspection.
Though Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) and Cebu Pacific Air (5J, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) were removed from the list in 2013 and 2014 respectively, the rest of the south-east Asian archipelago's carriers remained banned. Since then, the EU has conducted regular inspections to ensure a return to compliance with international and European minima. The last inspection, leading to the overall lifting of the ban, took place in April.
"After 5 years of hard work we are finally able to clear the airlines certified in the Philippines from the European Air Safety List. The Philippines is an important country with a sizeable and rapidly growing aviation sector," Violeta Bulc, EU Commissioner for Transport, said.
At present, only Philippine Airlines currently serves Europe offering 4x weekly Manila Ninoy Aquino International-London Heathrow flights using A340-300 equipment. Earlier this year Cebu applied to the Civil Aeronautics Board of the Philippines (CAB) for Rome Fiumicino traffic rights but has yet to announce any plans to serve the Italian capital.
Though none of the carriers affected by the ban's removal are presently capable of serving the EU, its lifting still has significant ramifications for them in terms of regional safety recognition.
Earlier this year, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation (MLITT) reportedly rejected a request by SEAir International (XO, Angeles City Clark International) to operate Kalibo-Seoul Incheon charter flights citing the airline's continued presence on the EU's list of Banned Operators.
