‘Colorum planes’ exposed at Senate hearing

MANILA, Philippines— A possible existence of “colorum” (unregistered) airplanes in the country or those operating  illegally  was exposed  during a budget hearing  in  the Senate on Tuesday.

No less than the head of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Director General William Hotchkiss III, made this admission  under intense questioning of Senator Panfilo Lacson  during the  budget hearing of the Senate sub-committee on finance.

Hotchkiss said the registration of planes was one of two  things that the country should do to restore its Category 1 status with the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“Are there any colorum planes? Lacson asked.

“Maybe, sir,” Hotchkiss answered.

“So how many colorum planes are on your records, and flying without registration,” the senator further asked.

“That’s what we’re addressing now as we don’t have a complete registry of all airplanes that are in the Philippines today,” the CAAP head added.

The second issue is the operations, which is now being addressed, Hotchkiss said.

“This refers to training of our inspectors,” he pointed out.

He was confident that on or before February next year, the country would be able to address the issues regarding the   country’s aviation system.

In 2008, the FAA downgraded the Philippines to Category 2 status for failing to comply with international safety standards. As a result, the country’s national carrier, Philippine Airlines, was unable to expand its operations in the United States.