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Friday, September 08, 2006
Arroyo lifts airline restrictions in Clark
By Dante M. Fabian
CLARK ECOZONE -- Officials of the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) lauded President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s decision to remove restrictions imposed on airlines flying to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) to improve arrival and departure and spur growth in the immediate community.
CIAC executive vice president and chief operations officer Alexander Cauguiran said the lifting of the flight restrictions in Clark airport was imposed after the signing of Executive Order (EO) 500-A to delineate territorial and jurisdictional coverage and the type of services available to foreign carriers that have signed air services agreements with the Philippines.
Cauguiran said the EO will at least help improve the situation of budget airlines in Clark airport, including the entry of more budget flights from other countries to DMIA.
EO 500-A states: "All grants of civil aviation entitlements and other forms of air traffic access, both passenger and cargo or a combination, shall be geared toward the development and enhancement of these airports as new international gateways of the country."
In the EO, the President also ordered the country’s air negotiating panel to start talks with Malaysia, Thailand and Korea within the next 20 months to ensure the continuity of flights in the Clark, including in Subic Freeport Zone as an international aviation and logistics center.
Cauguiran said the CIAC has been asking for the lifting of airlines restrictions in consonance with the vision of the President to make Clark and Subic the premier logistics hub in the Asia Pacific.
Cauguiran also said during the press briefings with the Pampanga Press Club members that with the lifted restrictions and the construction of various infrastructure projects at the Clark Airport aviation complex, including the rehabilitation of taxi pavement, purchase of ramp buses, extra machines, and the expansion of the present terminal for the low cost carriers, the three million or more increase in passenger arrivals and departure next year would be easily achieved.
At present, the airport can only accommodate 1.5 million annual passengers from the existing airport terminal at the DMIA.
Earlier, the CIAC board of directors has approved the P266 million for the expansion of the existing terminal, including other infrastructure projects for the improvement of the airport facilities due to the influx of flights and passenger arrivals in the coming months.
The groundbreaking for the various infrastructure projects, including the terminal expansion at the DMIA, will coincide with the birth anniversary of former President Diosdado Macapagal on September 28.
The new CIAC president is expected to announce the entry of new airlines to operate in Clark.
(September 8, 2006 issue)
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