Tuesday, July 10, 2007 Stalemate over opening up of Clark, Subic to foreign airlines continues
A LIMITED experiment to open the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark and the Subic Airport in Olongapo City to foreign airlines is still in an impasse as stakeholders could not agree on what course to take.
This surfaced during an open forum called by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) on whether or not the Philippines will open its international airports to foreign carriers.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo earlier opened the Clark airport named after her late father, to "no-frills, cheap" carriers by issuing Executive Order (EO) 500. The experiment seemed to have succeeded, according to airport officials, when passenger traffic jumped from a tiny 7,880 in 2003 to 471,000 last year.
The original EO was the first serious attempt to open up air rights to foreign airlines outside of the Manila International Airport. The Philippine aviation industry is one of the few pockets in the Philippine economy not yet opened to foreigners.
Other protected areas are the news media, advertising and land ownership.
But domestic airline operators protested the limited open sky policy, which prompted the President to water it down with the issuance of EO-500-B. Air traffic to Clark slowed down.
On representation by open sky advocates led by the Clark Development Authority (CDC), the experiment is supposed to be continued with the issuance of a third order.
But in last week's forum, the Fair Trade Alliance (FTA) and Philippine Airlines (PAL) reiterated their objection.
PAL particularly invoked the idea of reciprocity that would allow Philippine carriers to also ferry passengers to and from their countries that will be fielding their airlines to and from the two Central Luzon airports.
FTA head, former senator Wigberto Tañada, on the other hand, advised the government to get all stakeholders to agree on a national policy on international air transport and then calibrate its implementation.
Jose Clemente, president of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA), on the other hand, took the side of opening up Clark and Subic, and for that matter, all major airports in the country, to foreign carriers.
Clemente argued that allowing foreign airlines to bring in and pick up passengers is a big boost to the tourism industry.
Clark and Subic authorities have been advocating for the two airports opening to foreign airlines more to bolster the entry of new investors in the former American bases and in gearing up the Clark Airport as the premier international port of the country in the new century. Abe P. Belena/Philexport News and Features/Sunnex)
