Safety still top priority, says PAL

Manila Standard Today
October 10, 2011

PHILIPPINE Airlines assured the riding public that safety continues to be the airline’s top priority.

PAL President and CEO Jaime Bautista also said none of its strict safety protocols have been compromised after the flag carrier’s outsourcing program took effect this month.

“We assure our passengers that all aircraft utilized in our flights are released only after thorough assessment and safety checks,” Bautista stressed.

He added that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines has a surveillance inspection team especially assigned to PAL.

Bautista said all PAL aircraft are maintained by Lufthansa Technik Philippines and other reputable maintenance, repair and overhaul companies abroad.

All safety regulations have likewise been complied with, particularly those enforced by CAAP, the US Federal Aviation Administration and Transport Security Administration, as well as regular safety checks under the stringent IATA Operational Safety Audit.

PAL is the only IOSA-certified Philippine carrier.

“Apart from strict security checks, PAL flights also undergo a final safety check by our highly-trained and experienced pilots. A PAL plane will not take off until pilots are fully satisfied with the aircraft’s airworthiness and only after they have determined the safe load of passengers and cargo,” he added.

Bautista dismissed as “black propaganda” allegations by former PAL employees led by Gerry Rivera that “overworked” PAL staff and untrained personnel were compromising airline safety.

“Former PAL ground workers are so used to working less than their 7.5 hour daily shift for five days, such that they consider our volunteers’ eight-hour shifts, six days a week as ‘overwork,’” Bautista said.

“Even claims that an airstep bumped and caused damage to one of PAL’s Airbus A340s is a fabrication concocted by Rivera and his cohorts,” he added. Eric B. Apolonio