AIR cargo forwarders have completely discounted the effects of the US Federal Aviation Authority (US FAA) downgrade of the country’s aviation sector.
Operations, including those that involve flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), have been uninterrupted a month after the downgrade, airfreight forwarders said.
“We’re okay. As far as our US operations are concerned, they remained the same and were smooth flowing as if nothing happened,” Aircargo Forwarders of the Philippines, Inc. (AFPI) president Jaime Roxas told PortCalls.
“As for PAL, I think their current capacity will still be able to accommodate our volume while the country works on our Category I compliance… there is no need to look for other carriers at the moment,” Roxas explained.
“The downgrade also did not affect operations outside the US,” he added.
Last month, the US FAA downgraded the country’s aviation sector from Category I to Category II due to safety concerns.
Category I means a country’s civil aviation authority (CAA) has been found to license and oversee air carriers in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards.
On the other hand, Category II means a country’s CAA does not provide safety oversight of its air carriers in accordance with the minimum safety oversight standards of ICAO.
PAL continues to fly to the US even with the downgrade, but this has put on hold its US expansion plans. Still, its plans for route and fleet expansion are ongoing since the carrier expects a return to Category I in three to six months.
PAL was scheduled to increase flights to the US and its territories but the downgrade has barred it from such or from changing the type or increasing the number of aircraft used on the routes.
