AAPA relocation not due to aviation policies -- Keith

The relocation of the headquarters of the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA) to other countries has nothing to do with aviation policies.

This was disclosed by AAPA technical director Leroy Keith to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) due to reports that the impending move of its headquarters to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was because of their dissatisfaction with aviation policies here.

"This has been a long standing plan by the member airlines when the study was made by the association's consulting firm came out in 1991," Keith said.

He added, "This has been decided even before the coming in of the present administration and the aviation policy in the Philippines has nothing to do with it," Keith clarified.

He said they are planning to move out May 1 to Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, Franklin Ebdalin, Foreign Affairs assistant secretary for legal affairs and concurrent member of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), said that it is the country's worsening quality of life and not its aviation policies wh ich prompted the 23-member AAPA to decide to transfer its headquarters to Kuala Lumpur.

"Remember the officials of the AAPA are Caucasian and they are not used to this kind of surroundings and besides the term of majority of the officials will be terminated and the officials who will be coming in want a new location," Ebdalin said.

Earlier, Sen. Francisco Tatad, chairman of the Senate committees on foreign relations and labor, called for the review of the country's aviation policies following reports of the group's impending move.

Ebdalin said that Tatad received the wrong information, adding "they made the decision long ago and are just doing concrete actions now."

He said the AAPA members decided to move out of Manila as early as 1993 but were persuaded by then President Fidel V. Ramos and Philippine Airlines chairman Lucio Tan.

Ebdalin said the AAPA members often unfavorably compare the quality of life here with that in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. "In other words, infrastructure and not aviation," Ebdalin said.

The members of the AAPA include China Airlines, Eva Airways, Air New Zealand, Air Niugini, All Nippon Airways, Ansett Australia, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Dragonair, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Korean Air Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines Qantas Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, among others. -- PNA