MANILA, Philippines — One of the country’s foremost experts on aviation has urged the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program of the Aquino administration to support the country’s aviation industry, noting it would be source of thousands of jobs in the coming years in the light of the continued increase in production of commercial jets as demand grows from business travelers, tourism, and the public in general.

Avelino Zapanta, former president and CEO of Philippine Airlines, and now president and CEO of SeaAir, made the call following the opening of the Asian Aviation Academy in Malaysia.

Zapanta, who is also University of the Philippines professor of Air Travel Management and flight instructor at the Philippine School of Commercial Aviation, the only government-run aviation school in the country, said the government should address the aviation issue by tapping some of the local business bigwigs to participate in the PPP.

He says an aviation academy would produce thousands of highly skilled graduates that would be much in demand everywhere, in the same way that we produced thousands of seamen for the world’s shipping industry.

It appears that one of the reasons the Aquino administration seems indifferent to the huge potentials that the aviation industry could bring is the lack of an aviation expert in the cabinet.

A trustworthy adviser, or one who is highly knowledgeable in aeronautics, would surely tell the President that the future for aviation looks as bright as ever and if the Philippines is to secure its previous leadership in this sector, it is about time to appoint such a person.

Let us not forget that in the 50s and 60s, many Asian aviators graduated from the Philippine Airlines Flying School and eventually became captains and executives of their fledgling air carriers.

Here are the countries whose pilots earned their wings in the Philippines: Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Bangladesh, Korea, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.