Manila, Philippines - The Aquino administration is spending P100 million to conduct a feasibility study on the viability of transforming the Clark International Airport as the country’s second main international gateway after the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
In a statement, Clark International Airport Corp. president and chief executive officer Victor Jose Luciano said the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) aims to transform the international airport in Pampanga as the main international airport of the country right after NAIA.
“The Aquino administration is serious in making Clark International Airport as the main gateway of the country,” Luciano said.
He pointed out that the government is looking at developing a long term program such as the development of a new Passenger Terminal to accommodate huge numbers of passengers as well as aircrafts for budget carriers and legacy carriers.
“The government is determined to make Clark the main international airport that will cater to the rising number of passengers. This is the only airport in the country that has six budget carriers,” Luciano added.
He said that Clark International Airport is the only airport in the country that has six budget carriers – Air Asia Philippines, Air Asia Malaysia, Seair, Cebu Pacific, Jin Air, and Airphil Express - operating 24 hours a day. Asiana Airline also operates at Clark Airport.
Luciano clarified that the proposed feasibility study is different from the planned P12 billion budget terminal proposed earlier to the DOTC by the CIAC management.
According to him, the agency is also in the process of evaluation of the bidding of the P360 million Phase II construction of the expansion of the existing passenger terminal.
The current terminal has a capacity of two million passengers annually that is not enough to accommodate the influx of passengers using the Clark International Airport.
Low cost carriers led by Air Asia Philippines and Airphil Express are eying additional international and domestic flights at the airport that resulted to the growth of passenger volume.
Data showed that the international airport booked a 54 percent growth in passenger volume in the first half of the year due to the increase flights of the budget carriers as well as full service airlines.
Dragon Air a subsidiary of the Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific started on May 29 its daily Clark-Hong Kong flights at the Clark Airport. Dragon Air is a full service airline serving 130 destinations worldwide.
Passenger traffic at Clark International Airport is at 300 aircraft movements, both landing and take offs, weekly.