Clark passenger volume up 54%

MANILA, Philippines - More and more foreign and local tourists are now using the Clark International Airport as the volume of passengers using the gateway in Pampanga jumped 54 percent in the first half of the year.

Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) President and chief executive officer Victor Jose Luciano said the number of international and domestic passengers using the airport reached 547,556 from January to June this year compared to 354,585 in the same period last year.

“This manifests the continued support of our fellow Filipinos as well as foreigners, travelers, tourists, and overseas Filipino workers using the Clark International Airport,” Luciano stressed.

Data provided by the CIAC Corporate Planning Department showed that international and domestic aircraft movements increased by 38 percent to 4,749 as of June 15 from 3,435 in the same period last year.

The international airport is currently serving at least 300 aircraft movements weekly.

Luciano said the international airport could hit its five million passenger target by end-December or exactly nine years after starting its operations in November of 2003.

He explained that local and foreign carriers had started operating out of Clark International Airport especially the domestic front which boosted the passenger growth this year.

Airphil Express, the budget airline arm of Philippine Airlines, started its domestic flights to Davao, Puerto Princesa, Cebu, and Kalibo via Clarklast March 29. It also started international flights to Singapore and Hong Kong.

Air Asia Philippines, a unit of Malaysian-owned Air Asia Berhad, also started its domestic flights to Davao, Puerto Princesa, and Kalibo last April and doubled its international flights to Kuala Lumpur two times daily. It also flies to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia and is set to fly to Macau and Hong Kong starting July 19.

Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific Air also operates international flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, and Macau as well as domestic flights to Cebu at Clark International Airport. It is set to fly to Incheon through the airport this year.

Dragon Air a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific based in Hong Kong also started its daily flights to Hong Kong this year. Dragon Air is a full service air carrier which operates a fleet of 35 passenger aircrafts and serving 38 regional destinations, including 19 cities in China.

South East Asian Airlines (Seair) in partnership with Tiger Airways of Singapore also flies to Kota Kinabalu, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore.