As air travel becomes a major means of travel between the Visayas, Mindanao, and Luzon regions, the need for seamless travel arrangements for people and cargo is paramount. In the Oct. 9, 2025, article of James Loyola, the proposal of Philippine Airlines during the Aviation Summit calls for the establishment of a coordinated national airport masterplan that can ensure better efficiency and coordinated upgrades in our major airports, including land connectivity for passengers and travelers once they arrive in major cities.

Having a coordinated, national airport master plan is a step in this direction.

There are two main reasons for this. The first is that it can help bring people between points more quickly than surface or ship travel. Air travel that was once exclusive to the affluent has become more common. Based on data from the Civil Aeronautics Board, more than 32 million people traveled via airplane within the country in 2024. That’s a third of our population.

I believe that airport upgrades need to be integrated with upgraded public transport systems like trains, busways and similar mass transit systems. Not all arriving passengers can afford expensive taxi fares or expect to be fetched at the airport in the middle of a work day.

The second reason is that more seamless air travel can ensure better food logistics between Mindanao and Luzon. In last week's column, I wrote about the latest law related to the animal industry that can help ensure adequate food supplies for the country by getting more of Mindanao’s producers’ better access to the Luzon and Metro Manila markets.

“In Mindanao’s case, being the food basket of the country means we will need to be able to produce animal products at prices that can compete with global producers. The challenge is ensuring affordable transport of the products to Visayas and Luzon, where demand is high. Having more supply from Mindanao can reduce imports and help maximize the production potential. This will, in turn, create the opportunity to create jobs and income in the local economy.”

With the recent earthquakes in Cebu, the Davao Region, Surigao, and Zambales, as well as typhoons that often enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the effect of these disruptions on food production systems has been profound since the archipelagic nature of the country makes transporting food difficult and often expensive. Having strong supply chains from Mindanao will not only ensure stable food supplies in the National Capital Region, but also assure Mindanao’s farmers of steady markets for their produce. This creates better certainty, allowing local producers and consumers the chance to plan ahead. Seamless logistics help local businesses plan for disruptions to ensure normal operations as soon as possible. This is a basic tenet of business continuity that is necessary for local economies to be resilient.

These disruptions also create problems for transporting medicines. In the midst of difficulties, local hospitals in the Visayas and Mindanao and their patients are overwhelmed even further when medical supplies are delayed. Air logistics is the chance to get supplies to where it is needed.

Having seamless air logistics is thus no longer an option made available for people willing to pay more for faster transport; it is essential to ensure the availability of vital supplies to a greater number of Filipinos, and increase certainty amid the many disruptions we face and will continue to deal with.