CAAV ready for next phases of aviation safety project

      Ho Minh Tan, head of the aviation safety standards department at CAAV, told the Daily on Monday that the civil aviation authority planned to kick off phases 2 and 3 next month or in April as phase 1 had been completed.
Tan said phases 2 and 3 would focus on guiding the implementation of aviation safety regulations promulgated in the first phase and CAAV supervisors on how to conduct safety checks, as well as establish a database.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is funding the US$1.4 million project which CAAV expects to be completed by year end, Tan said.
The civil aviation authority will invite officials from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, to Vietnam for assessment of the project in June 2010.
“The U.S. aviation authority will only approve airlines to fly to the U.S. after it recognizes CAAV’s safety checkup capability as category 1,” Tan said.
The FAA requires foreign airlines to comply with air safety standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Aviation Safety Oversight Assessment Program.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration must also determine that foreign airports used by foreign airlines for direct flights to the U.S. meet international standards for aviation security.
In a recent interview with Vietnam Television, Vietnam Airlines general director Pham Ngoc Minh said the carrier would not be able to fly to the West Coast of the U.S. by the end of this year as planned but would not shelve the plan for direct service to the U.S. despite low air travel demand.
Vietnam Airlines said they plan to launch direct flights stateside in October 2010 at the earliest, three years behind its original schedule.
Direct flights between Vietnam and the U.S. will create opportunities to boost tourism and bilateral trade, which exceeded US$15 billion last year, or an increase of 24% year-on-year.
United Airlines is the only U.S. carrier with direct flights between Vietnam and the U.S. via Hong Kong.
Northwest Airlines plans to launch flights between Tokyo and HCMC this year given the growing demand for air travel between Japan and Vietnam. This service will link HCMC to the U.S. as Delta Air Lines and its subsidiary, Northwest Airlines, operate non-stop flights from Tokyo to major U.S cities including Los Angeles.