The government should tap Filipino experts on aviation and similar local professionals in international travel industry to be able to get a rating upgrade from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) of the United States (US).

Robert Lim Joseph, chairman emeritus of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies, Inc. (Naitas), raised this suggestion because of the scheduled FAA inspection of local airport facilities this month.

In November 2007 or nearly two years ago, FAA placed the Philippines on a list of 21 countries in Category 2 from Category 1 “for failure to provide safety oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the safety oversight standards set by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO).”

Thus, the American agency said, “the Philippines is unsafe port of origin.”

“A Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority “equivalent to the FAA “is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping or inspection procedures,” according to a US embassy statement.

In February 2009 or after the FAA category downgrade, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the concerned government agencies to work for the upgrade within 90 days.

“But what has been done to get the upgrade after more than one year?,” Joseph said. “CAAP should get truly knowledgeable people to overcome the obstacles in getting the upgrade.”

He suggested, for example, that CAAP consult with seasoned international pilots of Philippine Airlines (PAL) who really understand international aviation safety and whose operation is directly affected by the FAA downgrade.

Joseph explained that “PAL has good pilots because of training and discipline,” and who are strictly checked up every six months to make sure they are updated and do not slip up on international safety standards.

He said PAL, the only local airline flying to the United States, has the motivation to help get the upgrade because Category 2 has placed it in a straight jacket that it cannot use bigger and better aircraft until after the Philippines is raised to Category 1.

Joseph noted that PAL is scheduled to get delivery of six new Boeing 777-300ERs planes starting from the end of the year until 2011 to be used for flights to San Diego, Chicago, and New York which might only be mothballed if Philippines would remain in Category 2.

Also, the private local travel business, which is adversely affected by the downgrade because airline sales is restricted to current aircraft, is very knowledgeable about the business of passenger safety and security and can provide a lot of technical help, he said.