MANILA, Philippines — The private operator of Clark International Airport hopes the government can pursue its plan of building a second runway to convince more airlines and couriers to locate in the gateway.
Luzon International Premiere Airport Development (LIPAD) Corp. said it is waiting for the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to decide whether it would push through with the construction of another runway in Clark.
LIPAD, which operates the Clark International Airport, said an alternate runway would boost the viability of Pampanga as an aviation hub in Southeast Asia.
LIPAD president and CEO Noel Manankil said the second runway would provide redundancy for Clark in landing and sending off cargo and passenger flights. Currently, the airport’s lone runway can handle 40 movements per hour.
However, Manankil said he expects more flights coming into the gateway once turboprops are banned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) next year. The removal of turboprops in NAIA will begin on March 30, and Clark will host some of the relocating flights.
By March 30, Manankil said aircraft movement in the airport would go up to 269 per week, from 237 at present, raising the need for infrastructure upgrades like runway expansion.
Also, Clark hosts the Philippine operations of logistics titans FedEx Corp. and UPS, and their aircraft move on the dot to ensure timely delivery and pickup of packages.
In an emergency where the airport’s lone runway has to be closed, couriers may incur losses as a result of the delay in their deliveries, and this could hurt Clark’s reputation to investors.
“If we want to position Clark as a logistics hub for express freights such as FedEx and UPS, their business model is that they should be able to land their planes (on time). To guarantee that, Clark has to offer redundancy, and that is the value of a second runway,” Manankil said.
The BCDA has a pipeline of projects to improve the capacity of the Clark International Airport. Included in this is the P2.8-billion development of an alternate runway in the gateway.
The pipeline aims to convince more aviation players, including maintenance, repair and overhaul providers, to consider Clark as their next investment site.
For 2025, LIPAD projects a 42-percent jump in passenger traffic in Clark to 3.4 million, from 2.4 million in 2024, as turboprops withdrawing from NAIA are seen resettling in Pampanga.