Tugade: Change is Coming to Improve, Develop, and Construct Philippine Airports

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade is eyeing development and construction of at least six airports at the beginning of President Rodrigo Duterte's term. In the short term, the government plans to develop Clark International Airport to address congestion at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, as plans are developed for a brand new international airport.

Image Source: Wikimedia
According to Tugade, Clark International Airport has the space and facilities necessary to handle some of the traffic, while the Ninoy Aquino International Airport can still remain useful over the next seven years. 

"In Clark, you have the space," said Tugade. "The development must be pushed and pushed hard at the Clark International Airport. The remedy for Clark and NAIA is they can co-exist and therefore, they must be improved and developed."

The decision to develop the country's two major international airports is earning mass support across the country and in various sectors of government including the Philippine Senate where Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III stated that he would push the Senate to advocate for the development of NAIA and Clark International Airport. According to Pimentel, the nation needs the airports as its main international gateways. He added that NAIA could serve South Metro Manila and Southern Luzon to Bicol, while Clark International Airport can serve North Metro Manila and Northern Philippines.

Meanwhile, Tugade remains open and eager to develop more Private-Public Partnerships for other airports, similar to what was established for Mactan-Cebu International Airport. However, Tugade indicated that he will only support such initiatives if the companies do not ask the government for cash, sovereign guarantees, or obligatory transfer of aircraft from other airports. The Duterte administration plans to cut the PPP bidding process down to six months to help expedite infrastructure projects. 

Unlike his predecessors, Tugade is eager to create change and deliver results acting on previous plans that the previous administration failed to enact. Tugade has identified a number of priorities that he intends to carry out in his early days of office including:
  • Expediting the installation of ILS and night landing lights at a number of the nation's airports in order to enable them to handle night flight operations. This will give airlines greater freedom to schedule flights around the clock and minimise congestion at Ninoy Aquino International Airport during daylight hours. 
  • Making Clark International Airport a viable alternative to Ninoy Aquino International Airport by establishing transportation links to create seamless connectivity between Clark and Metro Manila. 
  • Enhance the quality and efficiency of operations at Ninoy Aquino International Airport by establishing another parallel runway, improving facilities, and improving services, while a brand new airport is constructed. 
  • Improve the experience in the various terminals at NAIA. Terminal 1 will see improvements to passenger comfort and safety including the removal of a steep ramp that arriving passengers were forced to use to access their vehicles. Terminal 2 will also be expanded. 
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, once voted the world's worst airport, will see a number of on-going improvements to create a better passenger experience. Secretary Tugade is promising better enforcement of traffic rules around the terminals and an overhaul of rules covering public transportation including taxis to help improve the flow of traffic. 

Inside the terminals, Tugade wants to remove the first x-ray check at the entrance of all terminals to help improve the flow of departing passengers. This is a practice that is not currently done at most international airports around the world. 

With the removal of private and civilian aircraft at NAIA, additional space will be made available to develop additional apron parking for aircraft and rapid exit taxiways, which will help improve the flow of air traffic on the ground and increase overall efficiency at the airport. The government will also implement strict flight scheduling and slot utilization rules. 

The Department of Transportation also intends to implement recommendations made by a British consultant on runway optimization and the regulation of general aviation during peak hours, which will help improve efficiency and reduce congestion. The potential of this initiative will be realized further once night landing capabilities have been installed at domestic airports. 

Tugade also intends to enhance services provided at Clark International Airport. With a pending plan to eventually shift turbo-prop flights to Clark, Tugade wants to ensure that Clark is equipped with the facilities to handle increased passenger traffic but also diverted flights from NAIA. This includes the purchase of stairs used by aircraft to disembark passengers. 

In addition, Tugade also intends to improve services at Clark for overseas Filipino workers to make the airport more user-friendly for arriving and departing OFW's. This will encourage more OFW's and airlines to use Clark as an alternative to NAIA.

Tugade also promised a review of the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, noting that keeping passengers inside diverted aircraft for lengthy periods of time is not only unacceptable but inhumane. He intends to revisit the rules, which government when passengers should be provided with meals and accommodations by airlines. 

However, one change that remains uncertain is if the government will rename the country's primary international gateway back to its original name as the Manila International Airport. In a recent survey conducted on the Philippine Flight Network website, 75% of respondents voted that the airport's name should be changed from Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Manila International Airport. 

References: Philippine Star

14 comments:

  1. I hope that all these plans will materialize and take effect as soon as possible. and please change the name of NAIA to MIA. Like what they did to DMIA changing it to CIA

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, rename it to Manila International Airport. Also, name Terminal 1 as the Ninoy Aquino International Terminal. That was where he was shot after all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ADVANCE NOTIFICATION


    RUNWAY 06/24 WILL BE CLOSE DUE TO EMERGENCY PAVEMENT REPAIR (5 HOURS DAILY FOR 8 DAYS)

    EFFECTIVITY : AUG 5 TO 12 DAILY1730 TO 2230 UTC
    AUG 6 TO 13 DAILY 0130 TO 0630 LOCAL TIME

    PLEASE ADJUST YOUR FLIGHTS ACCORDINGLY


    NOTAM WILL BE ISSUE ASAP

    AIRPORT OPERATIONS DEPT
    MIAA

    ReplyDelete
  4. Look:
    -Singapore Changi Airport in Singapore, the neighboring country of Philippines in Southeast Asia, is currently "undefeated" as best airports in the world. While Ninoy Aquino International Airport here in the Philippines experienced issues such as "tanim bala" which is the most ridiculous crime i've ever seen, making NAIA nominated onced again as "worst airport in the world".
    -Emirates plans Airbus A380 expansion in Southeast Asia, but Philippines is not included in this Airbus A380 expansion.
    -Philippines is struggling for being lacking of European airlines wherein most European airlines serve Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and many more.
    -Most Southeast Asian airports enjoy most using new and in-demand wide bodied aircraft such as 787, 747-8I, A350, and A380. While there are only few new and in-demand aircraft which serve Philippines (Cathay Pacific - A350, ANA - 787-8 only, Japan Airlines - scheduled only 787). And one more thing, all Southeast Asian destinations of Korean Air provides Boeing 777-300ER operations, except Philippines (Manila - 777-300 and -200 and 737, Cebu - Boeing 777-200 and A330-300; Boeing 747-400 also operates these route rarely).

    Shameful for Philippines, isn't it?

    Vietnam also plans new and much bigger airports for Ho Chi Minh City and that's final.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Manila airport needs air conditioning, modern facilities, sit-down restaurants...

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  6. As a flight passenger arriving in NAIA-1 bi-annually, Mr. Tugade has recognized a minor problem, which is a steep ramp leading to a waiting area. Again, this is minor as compared to the congestion of passengers waiting at the curb on their designated area. The critical problem lies with their vehicles trapped into a bottleneck before these vehicles can find suitable location to park and load their passengers and baggage. As a California DOT transportation engineer, this is the only recognizable, "major" problem. The problem can easily be improved within 6 months with good planning and enforcement. I ended up helping these uniformed traffic personnel every time I arrived. With their good hearts, they in-turn helped me with loading my driver,wife and baggage. This problem is the only recognizable inconvenience in NAIA-1 for any traveler; and an old problem that has been bypassed during the last major improvements. I call this "INCOMPLETE IMPROVEMENTS".

    ReplyDelete
  7. With respect to name change, this should be an easy decision by the current government. The people that brought the name Aquino into the limelight have several matters in common. What have they done to improving the lives of the Filipinos? First:they let Vietnam bypassed the Philippines economically, second: they produced a sociological mess for Duterte to takeover (uncontrolled population growth brought by Catholic practices, undisciplined population due to lack of law enforcement, corruption among so-called leaders, and proliferation of drug use), third: they let China dominate the West Philippine Sea at its earliest stage that gave rise to their current dominance. What did Aquino elder died for? To replace president Marcos who tried to discipline his people; never mind about the myth of unproven pillage concerning billions of pesos.

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