Transitions

“The coolness of days comes as December quickly turns to January, and a new year dawns….bringing forth new expectations.”

I felt the joy in the hearts of arriving PAL flight passengers from the US. Many come regularly for the yearly ritual, but one woman in a wheelchair came home only after 35 years, and soon, the cameras and the reporters surrounded her. Two acoustic groups belted out Cebuano songs at the baggage claim area and the more spirited dancers did their rhythmic phases outside the International Terminal. The Sinulog Festival had started.

True, many activities happen in December and January. This is when we experience an increase in arrivals and departures at the airport. Zest Air started its first Manila-Cebu flight using its first Airbus 320 last December. 

Zest Air is the new corporate name of Asian Spirit. The Cebu-Manila flights are already twice daily and will increase to even three to four times daily by February. Also, Magellan Tours Charter brought Russian travelers to Cebu, using a Russian 4-engine Illushin 62 airliner. The tourists spent a month here, visiting our landmarks, including Boracay. They left last Saturday.

The year 2008 was a good year, despite forecasts of negative numbers in the civil aviation world. The Mactan Cebu International Airport was just 15,000 passengers short of hitting the 4 million mark in total arrivals. Even if we saw numbers declining in international arrivals, we were just short of 5,000 in hitting the 1 million mark.

In collections, we attained P1 Billion for the first time in 2008; and we went over the gross revenue target for the second consecutive year since 2006: P991M over the targeted P983M for 2008.

Going to more substantive and qualitative milestones for the airport, we showed considerable progress in getting the whole airport team working. I have recounted several times that 2007 was the year our experience with the ASEAN Leaders Conference provided us the opportunity of working together at the highest level. We also set up our across-the-years Broad and Specific Objectives along the important airport systems and sub-systems. In 2008, we started the 24-hour airport organization and began rationalizing the MCIAA organizational structure along the lines directed by the government. We also concentrated on setting the standards of airport systems and sub-systems that will guide the authority in managing and developing the airport, its equipment and facilities, and codifying all these in manuals and procedures.

The focus of 2009 is the procurement of new navigational aids equipment, expansion of the present terminal and a budget terminal facility.

During the New Year’s Call to the Secretary of Transportation and Communications, Leandro R. Mendoza, he said that this year’s focus is being “tactical,” concentrating on the procedures and day-to-day implementation of policies on the ground to improve services to all the passengers.

MCIAA had the New Year’s Call last January 13 at the MIP Lounge. Here we looked back at our previous experience and look forward to a more enthusiastic and positive 2009.

Every year, we go through a self examination then vow to do better; but just the same, when we settle into the day-to-day routine, we end up like we were before. Life is a constant transition, a struggle to start all over. In the airport, as we learn by participating in many international fora, studying airport trends within the local context and deriving much from the collective experience of all our managers, supervisors, staff and shareholders in the industry, we ensure everyone that we will definitely be better

From our seat at the grandstand, contingent after contingent came and performed before a capacity crowd at the Abellana Sports Complex. More than the first time I was here at the Sinulog, I could now see the very thing that unites us all. The organizers, politicians and civic leaders were all there, but they were not mayors, congressmen, distinguished gentlemen or ladies. They were there as simply Mike Rama, Raul del Mar, Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, Gwen Garcia, Nato Osmeña and countless important personalities, feeling the joys of participating, serving and building communities for the future. And that is the perfect transition.