The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has called on government agencies to remove regulatory barriers that threaten the growth of the air transport industry.
At the conclusion of its 60th assembly of presidents held in Manila last week, the AAPA presented six resolutions, including appealing governments “to respect the primacy of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) standards and guidance”.
Director general Andrew Herdman said the AAPA is “deeply concerned about safety oversight in the region, where carriers can sometimes find themselves subject to restrictions or even banned from operating to other countries, due to a lack of effective national regulatory oversight in line with accepted international standards”.
To avoid passenger inconvenience and delays caused by “increasingly complex, intrusive, onerous and inconsistent aviation security procedures”, the AAPA also asked governments to rethink policies that will “strike a more reasonable balance between passenger facilitation and aviation security”.
As past pleas have remained unheeded, the AAPA has now renewed calls for governments to refrain from increasing the tax burden in any form.
“Governments continue to misjudge the strength and negative sentiment held by Asian airline leaders about the unnecessary burden of misguided policies and unjustified taxation,” he added.
Philippine Airlines president Jaime Bautista laments: “Airport slot and infrastructure shortages; onerous taxes and charges; burdensome and needlessly complex regulations; red tape that produces red ink; the quest for effective ways to protect the earth; and the call for a more connected world (are challenges we already face everyday).”
Herdman believes that removing barriers to industry growth and profitability is ultimately beneficial to the growth of the nation’s economy as well, and that it is critical for governments to recognise that.
