THE ongoing labor disputes of the county’s flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has open the possibility of considering an open skies policy to reveres civil aviation policies. According to the government, this move will allow foreign carriers to service the routes of PAL, which can possibly boost tourism in the Philippines.
Open skies calls for the liberalization of rules and regulations on international aviation, most especially commercial ones. “It’s about time that we assess (the situation) and to have more relaxed rules for the country to grow,” said Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma. He also stressed that although an open skies policy could affect PAL and other local carriers, it could also help in the county’s economy.
The increased arrival of tourists has made tourism one of the country’s major growth drivers. In 2007 alone, visitor traffic reached 3.1 million, with a total of international tourist spending of about $4.9 billion. There is no doubt that if tourist arrivals increase further, it leads to increased creation of direct and indirect jobs in the tourism service industry. This is why the Department of Tourism has targeted 5 million tourist arrivals to generate $5 billion this year. Aviation experts, however, said that the country needs 10 million airplane seats, with at least 6 million seats to service Northeast Asian markets, with a projected growth rate of 20 percent per year.
In the past, affordable airfare and multiple airline choices were not available. In 1995, Executive Order 219 was passed to transform the domestic and international civil aviation policy of the Philippines by designating two Philippine carriers. In 2003, EO 253 was released, expanding air services to two airports – the Diosdado Macapagal International in Clark and the Subic Bay International. This resulted to a major jump in commercial air cargo and created new markets and alternatives to passengers.
In 2006, EO 500 was signed, allowing budget airlines to fly to Clark without limitation on traffic rights, capacity, and air freedom rights except cabotage (transport between two points within the country).
However, seven months after EO 500 was issued, EO 500-A was released — requiring budget airlines to be designated first by their country of origin. It also limited airlines to third and fourth air freedom rights only, meaning budget airlines could no longer fly to a third country.
PAL president Jaime Bautista said that they welcome the proposal of adopting an open skies policy. “We just want it to be fair, reciprocal and its implementation should be phased-in and calibrated.”
Adopting an open skies policy could benefit the country’s tourism industry. However, every new step or policy should be studied and analyzed carefully before a decision is made. An open skies policy should not be used as the solution to PAL’s ongoing labor dispute, but should be seen as an opportunity to improve our current aviation and tourism industry. (AJPress)
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( Published August 21, 2010 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A12 )
