Bets warned not to fly ‘colorum’

NOW IT’S “colorum” aircraft.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has warned politicians renting airplanes to fly to campaign stops not to deal with unlicensed aircraft operators.

In a statement, Capt. Beda Badiola, CAAP assistant director general of the Flight Standard Inspectorate Service (FSIS), said an aircraft was considered to be “colorum” if it not have an aircraft operator certificate (AOC).

“The AOC basically serves as the license for an air carrier to operate commercially,” Badiola said.

He said that under Republic Act No. 9497 —or the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008 —it was the CAAP through the FSIS that issued AOCs to air carriers that had a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) issued by the Civil Aviation Board.

In essence, Badiola said, an air carrier that had an AOC was “guaranteed” to have a “system in place to ensure the safety of its passengers.”

“Passengers who avail themselves of travel insurance will find it difficult, if not almost impossible, to collect from an insurance firm should the air operator have neither an AOC nor a CPCN,” he said.

He said CAAP records showed only 36 air operators had AOCs.

Badiola said that under the law, any Philippine air carrier may apply for an OAC.

“The CAAP [is reminding] the public, particularly politicians renting aircraft for their campaign… [without an AOC, an aircraft is like] a public utility vehicle that cannot legally ferry passengers without a franchise, and it would be considered colorum,” he said.