BUILD, BUILD, BUILD

SINCE BECOMING an independent regulatory body in 2008, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has strived hard to improve the country’s aviation sector by launching initiatives and projects that will advance the country’s air transport infrastructure, safety, and overall performance.

In its mission to connect the Philippine Islands through aviation, and to make air transport more available and convenient to Filipinos, the agency launched to operations a number of projects, thus improving the country’s aviation infrastructure and steadily fulfilling its vision of a Philippines fully connected by aviation.

Under the “Build, Build, Build” program, DoTr Secretary Arthur Tugade’s solid guidance, and the CAAP’s steadfast performance, Philippine aviation will soar higher in 2019 and the years to come.

As it reaches its 11th year, CAAP looks forward and upward to 2019 as it prepares for more project completion and inaugurations. This year will see the openings of PTBs in Busuanga Airport, Camiguin Airport, Catarman Airport, Marinduque Airport, Ormoc Airport, Ipil Airport, Mati Airport, and Siargao Airport.

While maintaining safety in aviation, the authority is also continuously upgrading and working towards the night rating of several airports expected to be completed by 2019-2021. Naga Airport, Tuguegarao Airport, Cotabato Airport, Bohol-Panglao International Airport, Cauayan Airport, Dipolog Airport, Ozamiz Airport, and Pagadian Airport are among the airports whose night flight capabilities are currently being processed.

To help improve ASEAN connectivity, enhance aviation safety, optimize Philippine airspace, reduce CO2 emissions, and promote greener skies, the CAAP inaugurated the new Communication, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) Complex and held cutover rites for its operations on Jan. 16 and Dec. 17, 2018 respectively.

AIRPORT ON-TIME PERFORMANCE

The CAAP believes in not only providing safe but also punctual air transport services. As the operator of 80 regional airports in the country, the CAAP strives hard to boost its airports’ performance. That is why the Authority welcomes the result of the 2017-2018 Official Aviation Guide’s (OAG) On-Time Performance (OTP) Star Ratings for airlines and airports, wherein six CAAP-operated airports received one star ratings.

The rating was given to provincial airports in Iloilo, Bacolod (Silay), Laguindingan in Cagayan de Oro City, Davao, Tacloban in Leyte, and Puerto Princesa in Palawan.

The OTP star rating is designed to benchmark against set criteria defined by industry and flight status information experts. The OTP is measured across the whole year based on 12 months’ rolling performance.

To achieve an OTP star rating, the world’s airlines and airports must meet two criteria: all airlines and airports must have a minimum of 600 operations a month (minimum of 2.5 million departed seats), and OAG must receive flight status information for no less than 80% of scheduled flights within a 12-month period.

AIRPORT SECURITY

In order to prepare its airports against threats of terror and provide safe air transport services to the riding public, the CAAP on Jan. 28, 2019, initiated the conduct of Airport Security Committee (ASC) meetings in its 12 area centers nationwide. The ASC meetings are held to revisit and update the airports’ contingency plans and simulate bomb incident management exercises. Other agendas of the meeting include updates on the observance and implementation of the Office for Transportation Security’s (OTS) Security Condition 2 (SECCO 2).

In compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) current National Civil Aviation Security Program (NCASP) and Airport Security Programme (ASP), SECCO 2 is defined as verifiable intelligence indicating the probability that civil aviation operations have been targeted for attack. SECCO 2 requires further security enhancement from aircraft.

The 12 CAAP Area Centers in Laoag, Tuguegarao, Plaridel, Puerto Princesa, Legazpi, Iloilo, Bohol-Panglao, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Laguindingan, Davao, and Butuan; and airports in Jolo, SangaSanga, Pagadian, Dipolog, Ozamis, Cotabato, and General Santos, has each convened with their respective Airport Security Committees to manage and assess risks.

The meetings discussed various areas of security including aircraft security checks upon disembarkation, aircraft access management, mandatory removal of shoes at the final security screening checkpoint, and random searches using the Explosive Trace Detection System (ETDS). In the landside and airside areas of airport security, measures such as the deployment of behavioral observation personnel at the passenger terminal building (PTB) front-of-the-house and landside parking area, increasing security patrol visibility, deployment of government-armored assets, K9 Explosive Detection Units (EDD), and bomb squad, and the development of a strong security culture amongst airport stakeholders were discussed. IMPROVING PHILIPPINE AVIATION WITH INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Aside from building an improved aviation infrastructure in the Philippines, the CAAP, as the country’s representative in the international aviation community, also carries out partnerships and collaborates with various organizations and professionals that could assist the Philippines in its objectives towards a safe, economical, and efficient air transport sector.

The CAAP participated in meetings such as the Meeting of the South China Sea Traffic Flow Review Group, the coordination meeting with Japanese representatives for the proposed Philippine-Japan Tabletop Search and Rescue Exercise, the National Air Transport Facilitation Programme, the ICAO-European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Forum on Civil Aviation in Southeast Asia, Cooperative Development of Operational Safety and Continuing Airworthiness Programme (COSCAP) Southeast Asia Steering Committee Meeting, the EU-SEA Aviation Partnership Project Management Board Meeting, and the COSCAP-Southeast Asia (SEA) ANS Safety Assistance Mission.

CAAP CELEBRATES ITS 11TH YEAR

This March, the CAAP is commemorating its 11th year with a month-long celebration joined by its employees, stakeholders, and friends. With the theme, “Centered on Aviation Safety, Focused on Progress,” the agency kicked off its celebrations last March 4 with a thanksgiving mass right after its Monday flag-raising ceremonies. With its anniversary month coinciding Women’s Month, the Authority also took the chance to celebrate its female employees by presenting them with flowers.

The aviation regulator celebrates its anniversary with a bloodletting activity (March 5), a cleanup drive (March 8), a sports-fest starting today, March 15, and a fun run on March 22. Aside from these, the Authority also celebrated its anniversary with stakeholders and employees from its area centers with a fellowship night last March 8 where it awarded four employees for their 40 years of service during the Loyalty Service Awards.