Airlines Also Suffering from Congestion at Manila Airport

According to information released by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, passengers are not the only ones suffering from the congestion issues at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. Airlines have been incurring losses in excess of P7 billion per year resulting from additional fuel expenses.

Copyright Photo: Lester Tangco/PPSG

The air traffic congestion at the nation's premier gateway is driving up airline fuel bills as aircraft that are unable to immediately land burn additional amounts of fuel. John Andrews, Deputy Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, estimates that between 200,000 to 400,000 kilograms of additional fuel are used as a result of the congestion. That can easily amount to between P10 million to P20 million per day in additional expenses for air carriers.

The additional fuel expenses total approximately P3.7 billion, while the cost of aircraft time and engine costs doubles the overall expense to more than P7 billion. This reason alone is driving some local carriers to look at developing business from other airports such as Kalibo or Clark. For the carriers that remain in Manila, they are supporting a plan by the Philippine government to construct a second parallel runway at the airport to improve the flow of traffic. 

According to Andrews, the second runway would measure 2,300 metres long, which is less than the 3,400 metre primary runway currently being used by most carriers at the airport. The completion of the second runway would enable the airport to increase the number of hourly take off and landing events by 50 percent. That would enable NAIA to handle up to 60 events per hour in comparison to the current 40 events. 

Andrews says that the new runway is expected to cost P2 billion. "I think I have already convinced the Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary that this is the only option available to us," said Andrews. Abaya earlier highlighted the issue of expropriating the land, which would involve relocating approximately 600 homes of squatters and private home owners. But Andrews believes that this is not a major issue for the government. "This can easily be done with the proper political will," he added.

The Civil Aviation Authority does not expect any compliance issues to arise with regard to international air safety bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization. Concerns were raised earlier whether a new parallel runway would meet the compliance standards of the global aviation safety agency. "It is already ICAO compliant," said Andrews. "There are no major problems or issues we cannot mitigate."

Andrews has declared publicly that he prefers the construction of a secondary runway at NAIA as a much more practical option given the lower price tag and the ability to complete the project in a shorter time frame. Abaya also supports the construction of a second parallel runway as it would be a faster fix than awaiting construction of a new international airport. Abaya says that it is unlikely that construction of a new international airport for Manila would start before President Aquino steps down in 2016.