Clark Airport Expansion to Begin Mid-May

 The expansion and renovation of the existing passenger terminal at Clark Airport is finally scheduled to begin on May 15, 2013. The expansion will see P360 million invested by the Philippine government to expand the airport's capacity up to 4-5 million passengers from the current capacity of 2.5 million. 

Photo Copyright: PuebloPhilippines.com

Details of the expansion project include making room for additional check-in and arrival counters. But Clark will be put to the test in October 2013 as it welcomes two new carriers to the airport. Emirates Airlines announced at the beginning of 2013 that it would launch long-haul services between Dubai and Clark aboard their Boeing 777 aircraft on October 1. This month Qatar Airways just announced that it will launch long-haul flights between Doha and Clark on October 28. Clark Airport authorities had been holding initial discussions with the Gulf carriers earlier this year. It is expected that Etihad will be announcing service to Clark by the end of 2013. With the arrival and departure of each long-haul flight, Clark will face nearly 400 passengers per aircraft passing through within a short time-frame.

Photo Copyright: Emirates

It is hoped that the emergence of Clark Airport as a gateway to the Philippines will help to reduce congestion of passenger traffic at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The volume of passengers at Clark rose 71% to 1.3 million passengers in 2012 from only 767,000 in 2011. The 2012 numbers are expected to double once the expansion is complete. 

The airport expects to service at least 2 million arrivals in 2013.

Clark Airport has pledged to complete the expansion in time for the arrival of the first Emirates flight on October 1. The country is still awaiting word from President Aquino on whether the administration would adopt a single or twin airport system that would involve the join development of NAIA and Clark International Airport.