POLICIES governing the business aviation sector is ripe for modernization, the chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) said on Tuesday, noting that the government is now studying the possibility of adopting two global codes to further improve landside and airside operations in Philippine airports.
Caap Director General for Operations Donaldo A. Mendoza said the development and rationalization of new regulations and policies will help the business aviation industry “cope with the changes in the sector,” which can help “improve procedures” to better serve stakeholders.
Two of the policies that he mentioned that his group is looking at adopting are the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) and International Standard for Business Aircraft Handlers (IS-BAH).
“We have to consider how we would approach this, make some recommendations, and adopt them as necessary within the bounds of the Icao’s [International Civil Aviation Organization] standards and recommended practices,” he said on the sidelines of the Asian Business Aviation Association’s (AsBAA) Philippine Aviation Safety Day on Tuesday.
Right now, business aviation is governed by policies on commercial aviation or the Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations.
“Adopting a new set of regulations is a development that will not only modernize our policies but also ensure that organizations are meeting highly professional codes of safety practices,” Mendoza said.
He added that rationalizing polices will allow the industry to “cope with changes in the sector, create a standard guide for operations,” and help the government craft better procedures to serve stakeholders.
“Continuous refinement of our policies and regulations is a necessary step in evolving as an industry,” Mendoza said. “I believe that adopting a separate set of regulations for business and general aviation operations is a measure that will support this growth.”
The two policies that he mentioned—the IS-BAO and the IS-BAH—are international codes developed by the International Business Aviation Council.
IS-BAO is a recommended set of best practices on aviation safety and professionalism, including frameworks for effective operational procedures, tools on gap analyses and safety management systems.
On the other hand, IS-BAH is a code that spells out best practices in ground handling.
“Both seek to promote safety, aligned with Icao safety practices and standards,” Kurt Edwards, the director general of IBAC said.
Adopting these two codes, according to AsBAA Philippines Chapter Head Benjamin R. Lopez, would greatly help the business aviation industry.
“We feel that these two standards promote safety the best for the business aviation industry, which has a lot of indirect benefits to the country, economic development-wise,” he said.