Philippine flag carrier PAL (Philippine Airline) will soon be able to schedule flights to New York/PHL once the United States Federal Aviation Administration lifts its ban on additional flights from the Philippines.
The ban comes after the US FAA downgraded the country's standing as a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization, placing the Philippines in Category 2 or unsafe status.
After a five-day audit early this year, ICAO found out that the country managed to address and resolved its safety concerns, seen to bring the Philippines back to Category 1 status.
"With the lifting of the US FAA sanction, we can go to New York already," PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang said.
Ang said that according to a meeting of civil aviation authorities in Brussels, Belgium, the 27-nation European Union, which also imposed a similar sanction, is likely to lift its own three-year ban on Philippine air carriers "within the year."
