Philippine Airlines: Fixing Congested Airports Should Be Top Priority

As air passenger traffic continues to rise in country, Philippine Airlines believes that addressing congestion in the nation's airports needs to be the top priority of the Duterte administration. According to Philippine Airlines President Jaime Bautista, the next Philippine government needs to rehabilitate the nation's international airports and build aviation-related infrastructure.
bautista philippine airlines
Image Source: Orient Aviation
Currently, the Philippines has sixteen international airports, excluding domestic gateways. However, most of these are congested, stated Bautista. "For example, our Ninoy Aquino International Airport is congested," said Bautista. "We can only have 40 movements per hour. Sometimes, movements per hour exceed 40 so we can't grow the market. We hope we can have better airports and more aviation-related infrastructure."
The Philippine Airlines Chief Executive added that cramped airports prevent local airlines from tapping into rising demand for flights. In addition, it may undermine the success of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Open Skies agreement. The agreement enables broader flight options within the region.
Bautista is scheduled to meet President Duterte after he takes his oath at the end of June. "I have met Duterte, but we are not that close," said Bautista. "Improving airports will enable us to continue growing. The ASEAN Open Skies will be implemented and for us to enjoy its benefits, we should have the facilities that we need."
When Bautista meets Duterte, he intends to highlight the need to improve Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Davao Airport, and Clark Airport. The country's primary international gateway in Manila is plagued by capacity issues, where it currently serves more than 34 million passengers annually although it was only designed to handle 28 million.
"We are taking delivery of more planes," said Bautista. "If there is no support infrastructure, our planes will just depart, our investments will be wasted. The government should develop further Clark Airport. It is ready, but it lacks infrastructure. The fueling facility should be improved. There should also be more support industries, like airline catering, ground handling, as well as maintenance and engineering."
The Philippine Airlines Chief added that Davao also needs to be improved as PAL is considering developing it into a regional hub. "ASEAN Open Skies allows us to fly Davao-Singapore, Davao-Kuala Lumpur, Davao-Manado, Davao-Bali, Davao-Australia, Davao-Palau, and other small cities," said Bautista. "Davao in fact is one of our most profitable local destinations. The problem is, it is very difficult to add more flights."
References: Rappler

6 comments:

  1. What about the Sangley Point in Cavite?

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    1. Yeah, I'm just wondering that Sangley Point disappears in Philippine airport congestion news.

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    2. U'r right. What happened to Sangley Point?

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  2. Improving NAIA will be a short-term basis. So there's no way NAIA will be fixed.

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  3. Roxas Blvd is heavily congested, Coastal Road is heavily congested, the area of Sangley suffers perennial flooding. The inroads of Cavite are narrow. I agree with developing Davao Airport and Clark Airport

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