Clark airport posts record 1.3-M passenger arrival

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – The Clark International Airport (CIA) posted a record 1.3 million in international and domestic arrivals for 2012.

“This is a 71-percent increase from the previous year…making it the fastest growing airport of the country,” the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) said in a statement.

In a report to Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, CIAC president and chief executive officer Victor Jose  Luciano said  Clark airport “achieved an unprecedented growth on the strength of budget travel that encouraged passengers coming from Northern and Central Luzon, Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog to experience Clark.”

“As an airport, Clark has proven its viability, resilience and robustness,” Luciano said.

Records show that Clark airport surpassed the 767,109 passengers in 2011. International passengers alone accounted for 1,013,096 passengers or a 77-percent of the total volume in 2012 compared to 725,023 in 2011.

Luciano said Clark’s domestic passengers also surged when AirAsia, Airphil Express, and Seair-Tiger commenced domestic flights in April last year to the country’s prime tourists destinations.

“Domestic passengers accounted for 299,883 passengers for 2012 or a 613-percent increase compared to 42,086 in 2011,” he said.

Luciano said it helped that CIA was placed under the direct supervision of the Department of Transportation and Communications in December 2011 under Executive Order 64.  He said former DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas, and now Abaya  also gave full support to Clark when it was made member of DOTC’s aviation cluster along with Manila International Airport Authority and Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority.

Luciano said passenger growth at Clark airport is expected to be sustained this year when a regular first class bus service starts operation on Jan. 15 from Trinoma Mall in Quezon City to the airport for only P200.