THE massive flight disruptions at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) following a runway mishap has amplified the importance of developing Clark International Airport in Pampanga as an alternate gateway, Makati City Representative Luis Campos Jr.

"We are all for the continuous upgrading and expansion of Clark so that it can easily accommodate a greater number of international as well as domestic flights," Campos said over the weekend.

"We really have to build up Clark to decongest the NAIA, which is bursting at the seams in terms of aircraft and passenger traffic," added Campos, a deputy minority leader.

The Department of Transportation is already spending P2.74 billion this year to further modernize Clark, according to Campos, a member of the House appropriations committee.

"In fact, Clark already has an Instrument Landing System (ILS) that makes it possible for the primary runway to handle flights after 6 p.m.," he said.

The ILS enables pilots to conduct a fully automated or instrument approach to landing if they are unable to establish visual contact with the runway, for example, at night or during poor weather conditions.

Philippine Airlines flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Busan, Seoul and Melbourne, and Cebu Pacific flights from Singapore and Incheon were redirected to Clark on August 17 after a Xiamen Air jet had a "runway excursion" at the NAIA upon landing midnight of August 16 and got jammed in a muddy field.

For almost 36 hours, the NAIA's primary runway for twin-aisle aircraft was shut down, leaving the country's busiest airport operating only with the secondary runway for single-aisle planes.

Some 230 international and domestic flights in and out NAIA were either cancelled, delayed or redirected on August 17 alone.

Now operating night and day, Clark handled 7,709 domestic flight arrivals and departures that moved 647,929 passengers from January to June this year.

In the same six-month period, Clark also handled 4,094 international flights and departures that conveyed 644,422 passengers. (PR)