How about an "air traffic czar" to help the government fix headaches like the perennial congestion of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)?
House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan made this pitch for a new position Sunday, Feb. 19, saying that an air traffic czar can roll out a package of initiatives to decongest the NAIA including the relocation of more flights to Clark International Airport (CIA).
“We would urge Malacañang to look for an air traffic czar who can manage commercial flight activity, compel airlines to reschedule flights if necessary, and to oversee the shift to Clark. This is the only way we can fix NAIA’s congestion and improve travel experience,” Libanan said.
The veteran solon made the suggestion even as the embarrassing New Year's Day glitch at NAIA was still fresh in the minds of many.
Persistent flight delays at NAIA often cause holdups in airports across the country, he said.
“Airlines can be persuaded to move more flights to Clark. In fact, the government can subsidize some of their relocation costs,” Libanan said.
The lawmaker has been pushing for the transfer of up to 50 percent of NAIA’s commercial flight activity to Clark by 2025, in time for the projected full recovery of global air travel from the pandemic.
At present, Clark already hosts 18 airlines that operate 686 weekly flights serving 14 international and 19 domestic destinations.
“There’s really no point in overloading NAIA with more flights, considering that we have Clark nearby that is four times larger, has unused capacity, and is ready to handle more aircraft and passengers at any given time,” Libanan said.
In a previous study, the International Finance Corp. (IFC) had concluded that: “The current situation (at NAIA) has become highly inefficient, with airlines and passengers experiencing frequent delays (take-offs and deplaning), unplanned diversions to Clark and cancellations...”
The IFC added: “NAIA’s main constraint for expansion is on the airside, i.e., lack of runway capacity. A new parallel runway would require significant land acquisition of highly-developed urban areas.”
A power outage in NAIA's critical system last Jan. 1 led to the cancelation of at least 400 flights. The subsequent investigation brought to the fore the many other problems of the Philippines' main gateway.