AVIATION FORUM. Stakeholders reaffirm their commitments to enhance the overall operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) during the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines-SMC Aviation Forum at the Makati Diamond Residences on Monday (Sept. 9, 2024). From left are EJAP director Elijah Rosales, event moderator Jose Bimbo Santos, Cebu Pacific President Xander Lao, Philippine Airlines President Capt. Stanley Ng, EJAP President Neil Jerome Morales, San Miguel Corp Chairman and CEO Ramon Ang, Department of Tourism Undersecretary Verna Buensuceso, Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, NAIA general manager Angelito Alvarez, Philippine Airline Executive Vice President and General Counsel Carlos Luis Fernandez, Philippine AirAsia CEO Ricardo Isla and Philippine Daily Inquirer Assistant Business Editor Doris Dumlao-Abadilla. (Photo courtesy of San Miguel Corp.)
MANILA – As the scheduled turnover of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) approaches, stakeholders have reaffirmed their commitments to enhance the overall operations of the country’s main gateway.
At the first Aviation Forum organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) at the Makati Diamond Residences on Monday, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista said he is confident that the SMC-led New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) will deliver the parameters in NAIA rehabilitation set by the agency.
On Sep.14, the transition to new NAIA management marks the modernization of the airport’s facilities and addressing the long-standing issues such as congestion, outdated infrastructure, and service delays.
“We have no doubt these SMC-implemented projects, once completed, will conform with the comfortable, accessible, safe, secure, and affordable parameters we instituted in DOTr,” Bautista said.
NNIC general manager Angelito Alvarez said the NAIA public-private partnership (PPP) project targets to expand the terminal capacity to 62 million passengers annually from the 35 million passengers design capacity and to increase the runway hourly rate capacity from 42 air traffic movements peak to 48 within the first four to five years upon turnover.
He said the NNIC will not disrupt the current operations of NAIA and changes will be implemented gradually.
Before 2030, he said travelers can expect new terminal connecting to Terminal 2, a connection of Terminal 3 to Metro Manila Subway, upgraded baggage handling system, updated passenger processing systems, more parking spaces, and world-class retail and F&B experience.
For her part, Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Verna Buensuceso said during the event that the modernization of the main gateway will boost the country’s tourism sector, making it a key hub in Southeast Asia.
She said visitor arrivals at airports grew 6.26 percent, with NAIA recording the highest number of arrivals at 2.7 million.
“What is interesting about the DOT is that we are now increasing the connectivity of our destinations directly into markets. For example, Cebu Pacific is starting its flights from Iloilo to Singapore and Hong Kong, and Davao to Bangkok for Air Asia, and Philippine Airlines, there’s Manila Nagoya and Manila to Seattle. These are new developments that we welcome very much to be able to open up new destinations and markets for us,” she said.
Meanwhile, SMC chairman and chief executive officer Ramon Ang said the rehabilitation period of NAIA is an “exciting time” for the country and for Filipinos.
“It’s an exciting time because we are about to make history. We can begin the work of modernizing our airport and giving the Filipino people a world-class facility they deserve,” the tycoon said.
The bosses of the country’s major airlines, Philippine Airlines president Capt. Stanley Ng, Cebu Pacific president Xander Lao, and Philippines AirAsia CEO Ricky Isla also expressed their optimism and commitments to improve their services at NAIA under the new management. (PNA)
