Hike in NAIA fees may start this year

MANILA, Philippines — Service fees at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will be adjusted starting this year, and the first to take the hit would be airlines operating in the gateway.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said NAIA charges may begin going up by the end of 2024, right after the operations and maintenance of the airport is turned over to the private sector.

Bautista confirmed that landing and takeoff fees may be hiked this year, while passenger service charges (PSC) will be increased by 2025.

The changes in NAIA fees will be formalized in an administrative order (AO) formulated by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), regulator of the airport. The AO is under review by a committee made up of seven members led by the Department of Transportation.

The STAR obtained a draft of the AO, which indicated that landing and takeoff fees will jump to at least $794 for aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 50,000 kilograms for foreign flights. Rates will reach $1,268.18 by the 20th year under private control if the AO is followed.

Meanwhile, landing and takeoff fees for domestic flights will balloon to a minimum of P15,417 on the first year under private operations, with the AO proposing to raise the rates to P24,624.03 on the 20th year.

Likewise, the special handling fee will be set at P220,000 at the start of private management, and will be adjusted every five years to hit P351,384 on the 20th year.

The PSC will also be increased to P950 for international passengers, from P550 at present, while it will be hiked to P390 for domestic travelers, from P200 currently.

Bautista said it is important to make these rate hikes in NAIA to cover the investments that will be made by New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. led by San Miguel Corp. The consortium won the P170.6 billion concession to manage NAIA, and will take over the airport starting September.