PAL No Longer Banned from Europe

Philippine Airlines, the country’s largest carrier, has been approved to once again fly to Europe. PAL was banned three years ago, because of its failure to meet international safety standards; it is still forbidden to fly to the US, although this article says they are hopeful of getting FAA approval soon.

All other airlines in the country remain banned from Europe, and Cebu Pacific, the only other airline that might plausibly try to fly that distance, didn’t apply for reinstatement.

“Cebu Pacific decided not to go to Brussels [for the air safety committee meeting] to concentrate their efforts to analyze what happened in Davao to ensure...that this kind of incident does not happen again,” he added.

Good thinking guys. Right after the utter incompetence you displayed in that case (details in this post) is not a good time to go around bragging about your devotion to safety.

[Last] month, a Cebu Pacific flight skidded off the runway in Davao City, causing the airport to shut down for two days. The passengers and crew were able to disembark safely.

Hmmm … the last sentence omitted a word. It should read: “ … were able to disembark safely … eventually.”