London Gatwick Airport Automated Boarding Gates
Rehabilitating the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is a gargantuan task with a lot at stake.
Considering that NAIA plays a critical role in the Philippines over-all transportation system, being its primary air travel gateway, it is imperative that the airport’s update should be undertaken by a party with the appropriate knowledge and experience, not to mention financial capability.
With its members’ combined expertise in successfully delivering and operating large infrastructure projects, the Manila International Airport Consortium is deeply committed in pouring its considerable resources at its disposal to transform NAIA into a world-class airport.
Composed of seven partners, MIAC’s local members include some of the country’s most established and successful conglomerates: Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, Asia's Emerging Dragon Corporation, Alliance Global – Infracorp Development, Inc., Filinvest Development Corporation, and JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corporation.
These companies have a combined proven track record of delivering and operating some of the Philippines’ most important air travel players, including the Mactan Cebu International Airport, Clark International Airport, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific.
The consortium also includes technical partner Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a leading global infrastructure investor and airport operator. GIP has over 16 years of experience in investing in and operating airports, including delivering large-scale investment programs and service level improvements.
It serves 100 million passengers annually through its current portfolio of airports which includes some of the world’s busiest: London Gatwick Airport in England (47 million passengers per year), Sydney Airport in Australia (44 million passengers per year), and Edinburg Airport in Scotland (14 million passengers a year).
Collectively, the members of MIAC have submitted to the Philippine government a multi-phased Masterplan to transform NAIA into a regional airport hub that can accommodate 70 million passengers per year, effectively doubling its current capacity.
Optimizing the Runway
As part of its plan, MIAC plans to deploy US$4 billion dollars which will be geared towards technological and process upgrades needed to accommodate increased passenger traffic.
Foremost among the efficiencies which the consortium plans to introduce are those related to its cross runway. While there have been critics which have painted NAIA’s cross runway as a liability and the primary reason for making effective performance elusive, this is a myth.
Looking at the world’s busiest cross-runway airport, Gatwick Airport in London,which is operated by GIP, is illustrative. Due to the efficiencies GIP introduced, it was able to raise Gatwick’s capacity from 50 ATMs/hour (the number of take-offs or landings per hour) to 55 ATMs/hour. By comparison, NAIA–though it has a comparable terminal footprint and structure–can only handle 41 ATMs/hour at its peak.
Necessary Redundancies
Even as the government explores new air transport projects in areas surrounding Metro Manila, NAIA will still play a prominent role in the capital’s airport ecosystem especially since its supporting infrastructure cannot be speedily replicated for new airports.
While NAIA’s rehabilitation and the establishment of new airports will create redundancies, this excess capacity is needed by Metro Manila to support the projected explosive growth of air travel in the next few years. Further, around the world, there are multiple examples of cities of similar size or population levels which are serviced by more than one airport: Seoul (Incheon and Gimpo International Airport), Tokyo (Tokyo and Narita International Airport) and New York (JFK and Newark International Airports) are prime examples.
Similarly, NAIA is primed to remain a thriving part of the capital’s airport network—a necessity given that Metro Manila is prone to potential climate-driven or natural disasters that could impede and shutdown other airports serving Metro Manila, and even the whole country. It is important for the country to have a reliable and safe airport that can ensure continuous service while new airports are developed.
Improving Passenger Experience
Apart from expanding capacity, it is important to ensure that NAIA provides a high-level of service to passengers, particularly when it comes to convenience and comfort.
Due to historical under-investment, NAIA has been at a disadvantage when it comes to effectively meeting increasing passenger demand. Current physical constraints at the terminals as well as usage of several facilities and equipment well beyond their effective lifespan have resulted in sub-par levels of service and congestion at departure curbsides, building security screening points, check-in hall seating areas and departure, immigration and security channels.
With this in mind, MIAC plans to roll out new processes and technologies in phases to address these challenges. These include flexible self check-in and bag-drop facilities, next generation security lanes, and automated boarding gates which will shorten waiting and processing time of passengers. This will be coupled with improvements in air traffic control technology and new baggage handling systems which will benefit both airlines and passengers.
Through their shared vision of elevating the airport experience at NAIA through a fruitful partnership with the government, MIAC is deeply committed to developing a modern and sustainable NAIA—one which supports the Philippines in its goal of becoming a regional tourism and economic hub.