William Dennis

The Philippines government has abandoned plans to build a second parallel runway at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and convert Clark International Airport (CIA) to the capital city’s main facility. Instead, the country’s Department of Transportation and Communications (DTC) awarded a $1.46 million contract to British firm NATS Holdings to increase the current 40 landings and takeoffs per hour to 60 on NAIA’s two runways.

 


NAIA’s main runway, which stretches 12,260 feet in length, serves jet aircraft operating from Terminals 1, 2 and 3, while the secondary runway, at 7,766 feet, accommodates turboprops and AirAsia, which operates from the domestic Terminal 4.

 


According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Philippines Transport Secretary, Joseph Abaya, NATS will increase the capacity by determining the optimal configuration of NAIA’s intersecting runways.

 


Abaya says the first six months will see NATS evaluating NAIA’s airspace, runway and passenger terminal capacities, air traffic and surface operations, runway access points and air traffic controller training.

 


The CAAP aims to optimize runway capacity by reducing waiting time at the holding points, develop air traffic controllers' surveillance capability using technology, identify changes to access points and maximize available airspace. Plans call for completion of the project in August 2016.

 


Authorities scrapped the plan for construction of a parallel runway at NAIA due to lack of space and funding, and three proposals over the past seven years to expand CIA and make it the hub for Manila all failed to gain approval due to lack of funds.

 


Meant to accommodate 28 million passengers, NAIA handled 34 million in 2014, an increase of 3.02 percent over the previous year. CIA, located 50 miles outside Manila, once served as a U.S. military base. The U.S. decommissioned it in 1991 after the massive eruption of Mount Pinatubo, 8.7 miles away. After its handover to the Philippines, CIA became a civilian airport in 1992 and started operations the following year. Today, AirAsia, Jina Air, Asiana Airlines, Tiger Air, Cebu Pacific, Dragonair and Qatar Airways all serve the airport.

 


In a separate development, non-government organization Save Our Skies (SOS) has urged the government to include representatives from Filipino carriers in the negotiating panel with other countries for landing rights. The request came after executives from local airlines served as mere observers during negotiations with the United Arab Emirates in Manila in August. SOS president Joseph Lim said the active participation of Emirates and Etihad representatives during the talks proved decisive.

 


“Local carriers should be given same opportunity to defend their positions and negotiate for reciprocal rights so as not to be on the losing end,” Lim said.

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