By ANGELICA BALLESTEROS
Following higher fees for airlines and car owners at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), overstaying cars at curbsides will also expect to pay charges as early as this year.
This was confirmed by New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation (NNIC) General Manager Lito Alvarez on the sidelines of the 2024 Aviation Summit on Thursday, saying that the move was to discourage overstaying cars at curbsides.
“If we say (you are only allowed to stay for) three minutes, then you can only stay for three minutes. After that, we can impose fees,” he said.
“But all of that will be reviewed. It will not be implemented immediately…but possible (within the year),” he added.
It can be recalled that higher fees on car parking, aircraft landing, and takeoff were implemented on Tuesday to discourage overnight parking and generate more revenues for the modernization of the long-ailing airport.
Philippine carriers supported the move but acknowledged that the higher rates would impact airfare.
In a statement late Wednesday, AirAsia Philippines Head of Communications and Public Affairs Steve Dailisan said that the adjustments “are expected to influence overall ticket pricing” but that the carrier will still carefully evaluate the potential operational impact of the new airport fees.
“While these adjustments present challenges, our guests can count on our brand promise of offering reasonable fares so that everyone can fly,” he added.
Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific expressed its support for higher charges.
“Cebu Pacific confirms that increases in landing and takeoff fees at NAIA will impact both airlines and passengers. We recognize that it is necessary to invest in the improvements in both hard and soft infrastructure and look forward to working closely with NNIC [New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation] for the benefit of our passengers,” it said in a separate statement.
“We are optimistic that these enhancements will lead to more streamlined operations and better services, benefiting both passengers and airlines in the long term,” it added.
Manila Bulletin tried to seek comment from the country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines, but has yet to reply as of this writing.
Meanwhile, Alvarez said that the revised landing and takeoff fees should not be blamed for any spike in airfares.
“To our knowledge, the new rates are very reasonable if you compare it, for example, with KIX (Kansai International Airport), Narita, Hong Kong, Singapore. Even with the adjusted rates, our rates are still lower,” he said.
Alvarez also defended the spike in car parking fees, saying that it was done intentionally to discourage overnight parking.
“We did that intentionally. That is what you call demarketing. It’s not to profit. What we want is to discourage the use of overnight parking so that we can accommodate more passengers,” he said.
“The reason why we tapped this approach is because there are very limited slots. But if you check NAIA 3, we are developing a three-hectare property there that can accommodate roughly 2,500 parking slots and hopefully will be available in two weeks time. If that is the case, then we may be able to review our decision (on the parking fees),” he added.
Under the approved Administrative Order, overnight parking fee increased to P1,200 from P300 previously.