CLARK FREEPORT -- The Clark International Airport (CRK) recently set a record of being the first airport in the country to be ISO 9001:2015 certified airport.
Alex Cauiguiran, president and chief executive officer of the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC), said the airport passed a quality management system audit conducted by TUV Rheinland, an international certification body of the airport’s passenger facilitation process.
TUV Rheinland, which established the pioneering international certification body in the Philippines in 1991 based on various international standards, upgraded CIAC from its previous ISO 9001:2008 to the new ISO 9001:2015.
“Clark International Airport or CRK passed the audit with no non-conformities in its internal processes and management system,” Cauguiran said.
He added that this will be the third time, since the corporation was established in 1995, that a system audit of an international body found zero non-conformity.
The six-member TUV Rheinland audit team also found eight positive findings and 12 opportunities for improvement, Cauguiran said.
The audit team also recommended the awarding of the new ISO 9001:2015 called the Certificate for the International and Domestic Passenger Facilitation Process and All Internal Operating Processes of CIAC.
"An ISO 9001 quality management system ensures that products and services provided are of consistent quality and meet the customer’s requirements in compliance with the law and legislation, and also ensures streamlining of business processes and continuous improvement," Cauguiran explained.
ISO 9001 is the world’s most popular and most commonly used standard for quality management systems.
CIAC’s certification has been upgraded after it adopted a risk management approach, according to Cauguiran.
Vina May Manalili, an official of the CIAC Quality Office, said that a standard reflects the level of professionalism while a quality management system is a tool an organization uses to determine how it can meet customers' as well as other parties' requirements involved in its activities.
ISO 9001-certified companies helps increase customer satisfaction and provides companies a positive image in compliance with internationally recognized quality standards, Manalili added.
Air Asia is launching thrice weekly Clark-Kalibo flights on March 27, 2017 and four times weekly flights to and from Davao by April 22.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) operates domestic flights from CRK to Caticlan, Cebu, Davao, as well as international flights via Incheon in South Korea.
The flag carrier will start servicing a Palawan route via Puerto Princesa and Busuanga this March 26.
Other airlines operating in Clark include Emirates Airlines via Dubai; Qatar Airways via Doha; Asiana Airlines via Incheon; Jin Air via Incheon and Busan; Cebu Pacific Air via Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and domestic flights to Cebu; Cathay Dragon via Hong Kong; and Tiger Air via Singapore.
International cargo service giants FedEx and UPS mount a combined weekly average of 23 international and domestic flights at CRK.