Where to put an airport

This is not the first time it has happened. A small plane trying to make it back to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport crashed into an informal settler’s community in Better Living Subdivision, Parañaque City, killing all three of its passengers and eleven on the ground, most of them children. The plane developed some problems after take off, forcing it to make the turnaround. Unfortunately, it did not make it. This scenario has happened several times before, in Merville Park. I lived there with my family for several years and there have been more than one instance where a light plane has crashed into the community. Some were fatal.

This latest crash once again brings to life the suggestion that the airport be transferred out of the metro, for the very reason of safety. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), part of the reason the Philippines could not get a high rating from international standards is due to the location of residential or highly populated areas within the vicinity of the airport. The thing is, the airport was there before the communities! Poor urban planning is once again to blame. In other countries, I did notice that airports were far from the metropolis. It took a while before you got to your hotel or some other destination because the airport seems to be “way out there.” The only other airport I know that was close to residential areas was the old Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong. I remember seeing clotheslines filled with laundry as the aircraft made its final descent on the runway! They have since built an airport on an island reclaimed from the sea. Amazing! The airport is truly away from the populated areas of Hong Kong. The provinces have much better locations for their airports. Which is why aircraft accidents involving casualties on the ground are rarely seen in the provinces.

There was a proposal to sell the aging NAIA, and use the proceeds from that to develop Clark International Airport in Pampanga. But only if the Northrail was in place and running, which, of course, is not. We know who to blame for that. With a high-speed train in place, traveling from Metro Manila to Clark would not pose as an inconvenience at all. In fact, I would consider it a good respite after traveling inside an airplane for hours.

It’s too bad we may not realize this for a long time. The Northrail contract is still under negotiations after the previous one was found to be disadvantageous to the government. And plans are already underway to renovate the very old but nonetheless historic NAIA-1. So for the time being, we can only hope that accidents of this nature would not happen anymore. We call on all aircraft owners to maintain their planes very well. We demand that all pilots pass rigid scrutiny and accreditation before handling an airplane. I’m pretty sure there are cracks in the system, deliberate or otherwise, that allow just about anyone to fly an aircraft. Once the cause of the recent accident is ascertained, then everyone should learn from it and apply safeguards for it not to happen again.