According to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), Philippine carriers have been banned from expanding its flight to South Korea.
Seoul reportedly followed suit from the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) decision to stop any expansion of flights in the US due to PH's unimproved safety regulations.
Last month, the South Korean government junked AirPhil Express's application to launch flights to Incheon, gateway to the capital Seoul, citing the Philippines’ “Category 2 status with the FAA” as the basis for the decision.
Under South Korean aviation rules, airlines rated category 2 by the FAA are banned from expanding flights to and from the country. The ban also includes countries blacklisted by the European Union (EU) and those labelled possessing “serious safety concerns” by the International Civil Aviation Organizations (ICAO).
Incidentally, the Philippines is also blacklisted by the EU and the ICAO. Existing flights however will not be affected, even after the FAA ban. A meeting between CAB and its counterparts in South Korea has been scheduled in the first week of February for another set of negotiation.
With supporting reports from Inquirer.net
