EO seen to cripple Clark airport

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — Officials of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) and local governments around the Clark special economic zone fear that an executive order recently issued by Malacañang would virtually cripple the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here.

They said Executive Order 500-A, issued last Aug. 22, would virtually ground the operations of Tiger Airways, Air Asia and other low-cost airlines and block their plans to invest more and expand operations at the DMIA.

Members of the Metro Clark Advisory Council appealed yesterday to President Arroyo to reconsider EO 500-A, which amended EO 500, which was issued last Jan. 27.

The council, composed of officials and lawmakers of areas around the Clark ecozone in Pampanga and Tarlac, serves as an advisory body to the Clark Development Corp. (CDC).

A CIAC official, who asked not to be named, claimed that "mysterious forces" were apparently behind EO 500-A, which a CIAC report said would "effectively reduce the number of potential flights" at the DMIA.

EO 500 provided for the expansion of air services to the DMIA as it granted foreign carriers so-called "third and fourth freedom rights."

But EO 500-A limits such rights only to airlines officially designated as carriers by their home countries.

The third freedom right allows an airline to carry passengers and cargo from its home country to another country.

On the other hand, the fourth freedom right allows an airline to carry passengers and cargo from another country to its own.

Thus under EO 500-A, airlines not designated by their governments as carriers, such as Tiger Airways, Air Asia and other low-budget airlines which already operate and even plan to expand their Clark operations, would no longer be allowed at the DMIA.

The CIAC report said EO 500-A "imposes restrictions on the available airline market for the DMIA," thus making the airport "less attractive as a regional hub."

The new EO also applies to the Subic Bay International Airport.

The Singapore-based Tiger Airways flies daily between Clark, Singapore and Macau, while Air Asia flies daily between Kuala Lumpur, Clark and Kota Kinabalu.

Viva Macau, on the other hand, has forged an agreement with the CIAC for regular flights between Clark and Macau.