Air passenger traffic seen growing 10-12%

MANILA, Philippines – Air passenger traffic to the Philippines is seen growing 10 to 12 percent this year as the country pursues a policy that will allow for improved competition among carriers and more choices for passengers, an official said.

“The combined domestic and international passenger traffic through the Philippines grew by about 12 percent last year and we expect that trend to continue this year. We expect between 10-to 12 percent growth this year,” Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) executive director Carmelo Arcilla said on Friday.

Data from the CAB showed that the combined number of domestic and international passengers reached 34.422 million last year, up from the 30.851 million in 2010.

The same data showed that the number of international passengers alone rose 9.6 percent to 15.657 million last year from 14.283 million a year ago.

The number of domestic passengers meanwhile was up 13.3 percent to 18.765 million last year from 2010ís 16.568 million.

Arcilla said the increase in passenger traffic in the country is expected to continue as the government pursues its pocket open skies policy.

Executive Order 29 which was signed by President Aquino in March last year authorized government negotiators to grant access to foreign airlines to the country’s airports other than the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The policy was intended to support tourism growth and encourage foreign airlines to operate at secondary gateways.

­“We think there is still a lot of room for growth in passenger traffic,” he said.

AirAsia Philippines, which will commence its operations by March, he said, will also help drive an increase in passenger traffic.

AirAsia Philippines is a joint venture between Malaysia-based AirAsia Berhad, which accounts for 40 percent, while the rest is owned by businessmen Antonio Cojuangco III, Michael Romero and Marianne Hontiveros.