THE Little Prince and Jonathan Livingston Seagull are stories about flying and the seeming fascination the world has for the gift of flight and the inability of humans to soar.
Yes, humans are egotistic and felt insulted that birds could touch the clouds so thus, the airplane was built.
With the establishment of air travel, came the battle of the social strata on what the best flights are and yes, travelling in style came into play, dividing the world anew into business class and economy.
Until the entry of budget airways came over a decade, destroying a long drawn out notion that air travel was for the rich and famous.
With that out of the way, came another dilemma for mountain dwellers, the sheer toxicity of travelling to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport posed as a necessary calvary if you wanted to ride an airplane.
Not to be outdone, humans thought of another way to make things easier; the Clark airport formerly known as the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) now after much deliberation is recognized as Clark International Airport (CIAC).
The return of budget flights to the CIAC is a welcome prospect from the entire Northern Luzon.
In 2012 Clark welcomed its 5millionth passenger as flights increased with the birth of the budget carriers.
At the CAIC Influx of passengers come from the Northern Luzon group catering to the Cordillera Administrative Region, Region 1, 2 and 3 with the airport is designed to declog the NAIA and cater to Northern Luzon.
Airports in the perimeters of the region contribute to the growing accessibility of the Cordilleras despite failed attempts to revive the Baguio Loakan airport.
The state-run CIAC is ready to take on 12 million passengers from the Northern and Central Luzon provinces.
This week, the start of flights from Clark going to the Bagabag airport in Nueva Viscaya will cut travel time for jetsetters going to the majestic terraces to 45 minutes when they land.
The flights are led by Wacay Travel, a local Batanes based business, which has opened destinations in the country for both local and foreign markets.
Wakay will operate the Dornier 328-100 turboprop aircraft which has a 30-seater capacity flying regularly from the CIAC.
With PAL, Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines, Jin Air, Cebu Pacific Cathay Dragon, Tiger Air and AirAsia making a strong presence with domestic and international flights the gift of flight is now for everyone.
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