“India has virtually blacklisted some of our aviation schools amid reports of cheating in certifying the number of flying hours required for flying courses,” lamented Benhur Gomez, one of the founders of Omni Aviation Corp. (Omni) here.
This, even as Philippine Air Force (PAF) spokesperson Lt. Col.Miguel Ernesto Ocol cited the need to check on the sudden surge in the number of aviation schools in the country to ensure they are compliant with international standards similar to Omni’s. Their numbers mushroomed from 26 to 63 in the last two years.
“I heard the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) already has this in its agenda and I think it’s a serious concern,” Ocol said in a telephone interview.
Gomez urged the CAAP to probe reports that some of the country’s aviation schools issue certifications on the number of flying hours of students way above the actual hours spent for “private pilot courses” which are basic requirements for commercial pilot course.
Gomez was one of two owners of aviation schools in the Philippines who attended recently in Shanghai, China an aviation education training summit. It was also attended by airline executives from various countries.
He noted that during the summit, one foreign airline executive described pilot licenses being issued in the Philippines as “mere bubble gum” even as the Chinese government bared plans to send students to train in aviation schools in the US and Australia.
During the forum, Gomez reported to participants that the Philippines still has “a few aviation schools” that could fill in the aviation training demand of China. He pointed out that Omni, which he and other veteran commercial pilots founded here in 1994, has remained compliant with all requirements of the Canada-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
He stressed to forum participants that the Philippines is only about 1,700 kilometers away from Shanghai, while the US is about 15,000 kilometers away and Australia, 7,000 kilometers far.
“The Philippines is the most convenient, inexpensive and culturally acceptable training ground for Chinese aviation students,” he told the participants.
Omni is reputed to be one of the country’s top aviation schools offering complete aviation courses including private pilot courses, an instrument landing course, a multi-engine rating course, and flight instructor course. It maintains at least 22 aircraft and a modern flight simulator facility for its students, including foreigners from various countries such as Sudan, Nigeria, the US and, Saudi Arabia. At present, the school has nine Chinese students.
