The Air Transportation Office will hire 300 traffic controllers more to meet the needed personnel for the country's increasing airline traffic.

“As of now, the transportation sector is booming with the opening to international and regional flights of airports such as the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport , the Davao , Laoag and Cebu-Mactan International Airport , besides the Manila International Airport ,” ATO said in a government press release.

It is also putting up a central tower at Tagbilaran Airport in Bohol , and also upgrading new airports like the Bacolod-Silay.

Malacañang exempted ATO from Executive Order 366, which prohibits new hiring and encourages early retirement, to recruit additional air traffic air controllers.

The move came after the United States Federal Aviation Administration, which audited the safety of Philippine international airports last August, reported that it is necessary to increase positioned personnel in the control towers, radar installation, communicators and air navigation to increase air safety.

ATO said there would be a total upgrading of its personnel and facilities, including sending check pilots to further trainings to the United States and Singapore .

There are about 400 air controllers in over 26 airports in the country.

The ATO has programmed trainings for about 100 of the new hires for six months followed by 100 until the full 300 has been filled up in two years.

Of the 300 new air contollers, 150 will be assigned to Manila and the rest to other international airports in Luzon and Visayas.

ATO is also inviting former air controllers, technicians and communicators who have been abroad but have returned after the end of their contracts, to reapply and fill in the dearth of aviation specialists in the country.*

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