Fees at all airports now part of air fare

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and administrators of major airports to incorporate terminal fees in the price of airline tickets to help reduce queuing time at airports.

In his order, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya directed the CAAP, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) and the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) to follow the example of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), which has included terminal fees at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in international passengers’ ticket prices.

“We want to improve passenger convenience at all our airports, not just through infrastructure and facilities upgrades, but also through more efficient business processes. I have asked the other airport authorities to follow MIAA’s lead,” Abaya said.

MCIAA operates the Mactan-Cebu international airport, CIAC operates the Clark International Airport in Pampanga while CAAP operates all other international gateways in different parts of the country.

“This comes as we are developing several key airports across the country to accept more international flights, in support of our tourism goals. We are expanding Cebu and Clark, and at the same time upgrading or replacing those in Puerto Princesa, Bohol, Bicol, and Caticlan,” he added.

MIAA first adopted the scheme for domestic flights in August last year.

Based on a memorandum of understanding to be signed with international carriers, MIAA is set to begin transitioning to an integrated system for international flights over a one-year period beginning in October this year until September next year.

The transition period is meant to cover those passengers who have purchased their tickets in advance.

The P550 terminal fee or international passenger service charge collected by MIAA is essential to the continued operations of the airport. Of the amount, P390 represents MIAA’s share in maintenance and upkeep, while P100 goes to the national government, and P60 to aviation security.

The Philippines is the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that collects terminal fees directly from passengers at the airport.

The DOTC is presently undertaking major upgrading projects for NAIA, particularly Terminals 1 and 3.

The P1.3-billion NAIA-1 rehabilitation project being undertaken by construction giant DMCI Holdings entails structural retrofitting, architectural work and improvement of mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection facilities scheduled to be completed in January.

On the other hand, Takenaka Corp. of Japan is scheduled to complete the P1.9-billion rehabilitation work on NAIA-3 next month.