"TSA declares Philippines airport 'unsafe'?"

Thursday, January 20, 2005

TSA declared RP int'l airport 'unsafe'?
by Ruth G. Mercado
Philippines - The Freeman


United States' Transportation Security Administration has reportedly
declared the international airport in Manila "unsafe," an officer of the
Task Force for Critical Infrastructure made the alarming revelation on
Tuesday. He said what has made the country fall short of US-based aviation
safety and security benchmarks is the absence of a national civil aviation
security program. The country has also fallen short of aviation
infrastructure and equipment like radars.

In her executive order 311, President Gloria Arroyo directed the Office for
Transportation Security to craft the country's first National Civil Aviation
Security Program. But the critical infrastructure officer who handles
airports in his division said OTS has not shown any draft nor has reported
any progress since the order was issued in April 26 last year.
TSA, a US agency that handles the overall aspects of transport security had
reportedly visited the country's airports only to be disappointed, the
critical infrastructure officer said.

Officials of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Office for
Transportation Security said they are not aware of the TSA declaration. They
neither confirmed nor denied nor was there a sense of alarm from them when
hearing the startling revelation for the first time on Tuesday. 

NAIA general manager Alfonso Cusi said he was not aware of the TSA
declaration because NAIA has its own aviation security plan in place. Cusi
would not confirm though if the security plan is accredited with the
International Civil Aviation Organization, the world's aviation security and
safety watchdog.

Ed Israel of the Office for Transportation Security declined comment as of
press time. Security officers of the Mactan Cebu International Airport were
all out of the office when The Freeman called them for comment during office
hours on Tuesday.

Out of synch.

That government agencies now appear out of synch in aviation security and
safety may indicate that the aviation system is similarly fragmented.
Airline passengers may have to put up with inconvenience and delays,
undermined safety and threatened security for a very long time after the
critical infrastructure task force confirmed that without a national
security aviation program, aviation systems in the country are out of synch.


Aviation systems have three capacity components including airlines, air
traffic control and airports. While there has been a surge in passenger
traffic and cargo volume it could not be determined how delays are
contributing to lost manwork hours. There are also no measurable parameters
to show that available seat miles, enplaned passengers, aircraft utilization
patterns, departures or aircraft acquisitions are filling up capacities or
are actually responsive to the economy's needs.

While there is already radar shortfall in air traffic control, the
discrepancy is made worse with minimal or no effort by Congress or
transportation authorities to develop, deploy, acquire or employ air traffic
control systems capable of meeting the public's demand for air
transportation.

Airports too are begging for improved runways while many regions in the
country are denied growth either because there are no airports or if there
are, these have plaguing safety issues. It has also become pressing to
enhance infrastructure to accommodate growing demands for travel.

Given the present long-term capacity mismatch worsened by the lack of focus
on customer service or shortfall in customer service infrastructure, the
aviation industry may be headed for the ground instead of soaring.

In the long run, safe and efficient operation of aviation system will need a
collaboration of partners and multi-tiered approaches. It could range from
addressing the short fall in aviation infrastructure, streamlining aviation
environment initiatives, priority setting for airport projects and a
national approach to capacity issues.

Alas, authorities are hearing the shortfall and slack for the first time
that they are too overwhelmed for words.


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