Welcome improvements

For its many inadequacies and inefficiencies, structural and otherwise, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has always landed in the notorious list of “worst” airports around the world. Carrying the name of his late father, slain Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., it behooves therefore the administration of President Benigno “Noy” Aquino III to get our country’s premier passenger terminal out of this notorious list of “worst” airports.

In 2011, President Aquino gave the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) a one-year timetable to get the Philippines out of the Category 2 status of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States. The FAA, through the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), downgraded the NAIA to Category 2 status in December 2007 because of infrastructure deficiencies, noting lapses in perimeter fencing and lack of security procedures, equipment and personnel.

Only most recently, the very high frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR) that guides the landing of aircraft, continues to disrupt services at NAIA. It has been bogging down since 2008, and flights have to be diverted to Clark Airport in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Currently, the NAIA terminals are being inspected and audited to check if their facilities meet and comply with standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The inspection covers airport ID processing and access controls, airport security program, quality control program, airport contingency and emergency plans, cargo security, perimeter and terminal access control systems, and passenger and cabin baggage screening system.

US federal laws require all airports that have a “last point of departure” to the US to undergo yearly security surveys as well as an “air carrier assessment” by the TSA.

Due to the FAA downgrade, our country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL), and other local carriers could not get more flights to the US. 

The Philippine carriers were dealt with a double whammy when the European Union also banned them from flying to EU member-countries, citing deficiencies in the Philippine aviation system. The EU blacklist has been a big blow to the Philippine tourism industry since then.

In July this year, President Aquino appointed his own man, former Air Force commanding general William K. Hotchkiss III, as director general of the CAAP to single-mindedly work on this mission: Get the Philippines out of the FAA’s Category 2 status and EU blacklist.

In a statement released through the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Hotchkiss said the CAAP team under his leadership is positive it will be able to address the remaining safety issues that will satisfy both the FAA and ICAO.

Malacañang fully acknowledges that the country’s current aviation status has been a major obstacle to the administration’s efforts to promote the “It’s more fun in the Philippines!” tourism program.

While aviation safety concerns are being addressed by the CAAP, the physical facilities are also being attended to. A major makeover of the airport facilities was recommended by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), the agency that manages NAIA. MIAA is headed by another trusted Noy man, former Air Force Gen. Angel Honrado.

The government, through the DOTC, was supposed to allocate some P1.6 billion to start the rehabilitation of NAIA-1 in January this year. However, then DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas II put this on hold for a purported review.

But an unexpected turn of events, the plane crash in August that killed former Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, saw the transfer of Roxas to the DILG. In turn, Roxas was replaced by former Cavite Rep. Joseph E.A. Abaya as new DOTC Secretary.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has reportedly allocated to the MIAA some P2.8 billion to undertake the NAIA-1 rehabilitation to start in January 2013. Now that we have Abaya at the helm of the DOTC, perhaps it would be reasonable to expect that he would start the ball rolling with no more teka, teka, teka (wait, wait, wait).

But obviously, things were already beginning to move at NAIA. It was a sigh of satisfaction that greeted me when I came back from Taipei last Monday to see much-improved new systems and procedures now being implemented at NAIA. This is not to mention the physical improvements in both the departure and arrival areas of NAIA-1.   

The departure area was widened with the removal of the two escalators connecting the arrival and departure concourse at the lobby. If plans push through, existing foreign exchange banks located at the arrival and departure lobbies will also be relocated near the entrance door to create more space and allow more movement for arriving and departing passengers.

The immigration corner at the arrival area has been widened, with separate lanes dedicated to Filipino citizens and foreigners. The original 10 counters — that have two immigration officers each ‑ have been transformed to process foreigners. Three counters — with four immigration officers each — were added in the arrival area to exclusively handle Filipinos.

But during peak hours — 3 to 5 p.m. when overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) arrive in droves — the immigration counters for foreigners are opened to accommodate returning Filipinos.

The additional spaces in the arrival area were created with the stores of Duty Free Philippines and the airport office of the Philippine National Police relocated to the inner sides of the airport.

Now there are four TV sets or monitors installed back-to-back in each of the six conveyors, enabling passengers to see their luggage being loaded downstairs and going up their way for them to pick these up. 

In the meantime, the CAAP and the MIAA will continue with their manual system to scare birds away from the runways to keep planes out of harm’s way.

With P-Noy now entering his third year in office, or half of his six-year term, such welcome improvements give us some bigger things to look forward to.