Light at the end of the runway

During the peak of the Holy Week exodus, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) once again grabbed public attention for all the wrong reasons.

Travelers, many seeking reprieve from their hectic city life or eager to reunite with families and friends for the extended break, found themselves enduring sweltering heat at NAIA Terminal 2 on Holy Wednesday due to power fluctuations.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) attributed the issue to a surge in power demand, or high power load, aggravated by the high heat index. Meralco assured uninterrupted power supply for its customers during that period – as confirmed by MIAA as well.

While check-in, baggage handling and security systems remained operational thanks to generators, the airport’s cooling systems faltered. This prompted MIAA to deploy industrial fans in an attempt to alleviate travelers’ discomfort as they rushed on the eve of the Easter triduum.

Adding to the disappointment of the situation was MIAA’s repeated assurances of readiness for the anticipated influx of travelers for the Holy Week break. According to succeeding reports from MIAA, over a million passengers were recorded from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time NAIA has faced challenges during crucial travel periods. The airport made international headlines on New Year’s Day 2023 due to technical glitches that led to a forced shutdown of the Philippine airspace.

Prior to this, in the weeks leading up to Holy Week, media reports underscored both new and lingering issues at NAIA such as pest infestations such as bed bugs and rats. Even the adequacy of chairs within the terminal was discussed heavily. These issues hounding the country’s main gateway emphasize the dire need for private sector intervention.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) is an effective avenue to spur national development via investments for the benefit of the public good. Thus, the impending involvement of a private consortium, led by San Miguel Corp. (SMC), in managing and upgrading NAIA is truly a welcome development.

This recent Holy Wednesday incident presents a significant challenge for the SMC-led consortium to revamp NAIA, ensuring a well-deserved pleasant experience for travelers. High hopes are pinned on the consortium, especially since the operator of South Korea’s Incheon airport is included – expectations soar for NAIA to rival world-class standards.

We Filipinos deserve better. Our visitors deserve better.

As we anticipate how the SMC-led consortium will rise to the challenge, marked by a commitment of over P122 billion for a 25-year NAIA modernization program, optimism prevails.

With such resources, the private consortium is expected to introduce much-needed upgrades, not only enhancing traveler convenience but also fostering economic growth and drastically improving the Philippines’ image and reputation in the global stage.

By assuming airport maintenance and management, the private sector harnesses its wealth of resources, expertise and experience to deliver quality essential services effectively and efficiently.

PPPs optimize private sector investment, which consequently contribute to the collective benefit of the public. In the case of NAIA, this arrangement relieves the government of airport maintenance and management costs, and in turn enables the allocation of funds to other critical sectors or social services or projects that need financial support.

The SMC-led consortium is set to commence in a few months. As we eagerly await the transformation it brings to NAIA, the current management must address the airport’s recurring challenges with urgency and diligence.