MIAA to auction off abandoned planes

MANILA, Philippines - Abandoned airplanes will be auctioned off by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

MIAA general manager Jose Honrado said they have repeatedly notified the owners of the old and abandoned aircraft to dismantle their planes to decongest NAIA’s general aviation area.

“Our primary purpose is to clear the aviation area of these junked aircraft or aircraft that are not serviceable, so we can use the area for other purposes. We don’t want the general aviation area to be a dumping site of dilapidated planes. The area is becoming an eyesore,” Honrado said.

Honrado said they had even warned the aircraft owners that if they failed to claim or remove the aircraft within 30 days, they would have to pay rent at P31.54 per square meter a month or their aircraft would be put to auction.

The area will be used for aircraft movement and other airport operational requirements when cleared of the old planes, he said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) also said the aircraft owners were notified several times to dismantle or remove their outmoded aircraft to pave way for MIAA operations.

The MIAA said there are about 12 aircraft abandoned in the general aviation area: five McDonnell Douglas DC-9s; an Antonov AN-26B, reportedly owned by Mosphil Aero; three McDonnell DC-3, owned by Gemino Pilapil, Jacob Lim, and Max Manning; a Cessna 150, owned by Fredelito Juane; a Grumman America AA-IA Yankee; and a Super Constellation, owned by William Crawford.