The Philippines has successfully passed an audit by the U.S-based civil aviation authority, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).

The audit was conducted as a part of the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, which assesses the ability of a country’s civil aviation regulator to meet internationally recognised standards of regulatory oversight.

The FAA downgraded the CAAP to a Category 2 country in 2008, after concerns were raised regarding the regulator's ability to oversee safety within the Philippines.

The Philippines was re-instated as a Category 1 listed country after the CAAP successfully passed an audit by the FAA in March 2014.

In early April 2014, Filipino-based carrier, Cebu Pacific, was officially removed from the European Union’s list of banned carriers.

In 2010, all airlines operating under the authority of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), were placed on the EU’s list of banned carriers after the EU questioned their ability to adhere to internationally recognised standards of regulatory oversight.

In March 2013, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audited the CAAP and determined that the regulator had successfully rectified all of the Significant Safety Concerns (SSC’s), which had been identified in 2010.

On the 10th April 2014, it was officially announced that Cebu Pacific had successfully demonstrated that it adhered to the required safety standards and had been removed list of banned carriers.

In late March 2014, the Ministry of Transport of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) withdrew the operating certificates for 10 airlines operating within the country. The airlines all failed the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recertification process, which had been developed and implemented with the objective of improving safety within the DRC‘s aviation industry.

The airlines failed to meet the required standards for the Document Evaluation & Demonstration and Inspection phases, which are a part of a five phase certification process.

The certification process was initiated by the Ministry of Transport to demonstrate an active approach to improving safety oversight within its area of jurisdiction.