PARANAQUE CITY, May 31 (PIA) -- Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal odered all terminal managers to prepare for the expected resumption of domestic flights after Metro Manila has been placed under General Community Quaratine (GCQ) beginning June 1.
Following the recommendation of DOTr Secretary Art Tugade to President Rodrigo Duterte, domestic flights will operate between GCQ to GCQ areas only.
In a statement, Monreal said, domestic carriers have already expressed their intention to operate beginning June 1.
The MIAA will determine terminal usage depending on the number of flights that will be mounted. Only flights duly approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will be considered for slotting.
International operations on the other hand shall continue subject to the 400 passengers a day cap imposed by the IATF for inbound flights. For planning purposes however, the MIAA requested the airlines to submit their plans after May 31.
Out of twenty six (26) airlines operating in Terminal 1, twenty one (21) already submitted their flight plans. Most of these though will not be happening in the immediate future since travel bans are still existing here and abroad.
To get domestic operations off the ground, the MIAA will adopt three options. Terminal 1 shall remain servicing international commercial flights while Terminal 2 shall remain servicing all repatriation and sweeper flights and commercial domestic flights of Philippine Airlines. Terminal 3 on the hand shall be used by Cebu Pacific and Air Asia. Meanwhile, Terminal 4 shall remain closed.
The airport chief stressed that MIAA deemed it best to adopt these options so that it can maximize the use of the Terminals while striking a balance between ensuring efficient flight operations and being cost-effective.
A comparative review of NAIA’s statistics revealed that for the period March 16-May 16, 2020, the NAIA registered a total passenger volume of 182,660 only as against 8,570,113 million for the same period in 2019.
“This dip in passenger volume is caused by prohibitions on travel imposed by countries all over the world that compelled airline companies to consequently suspend operations. Airlines that continue to operate to this day in NAIA do so on reduced capacity and frequency.,” Monreal said.
Like other businesses, the MIAA is down by 1.8 billion in revenues against last year’s figure.
Amidst the global economic destruction that COVID-19 has caused, Monreal remains hopeful that new opportunities will come out of the current situation. (MIAA Media Affairs Division/PIA-NCR)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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