AirAsia pushes upgrade of NAIA4

MANILA, Philippines - Soon to be relaunched AirAsia Zest is urging the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to expand the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 4 (NAIA4) as airlines gear up for more international flights.

AirAsia Zest executive vice president and chief operating officer Joy Caneba said there is a huge potential for NAIA4 as airlines operating in the gateway have started flying overseas.

“We have requested for an expansion of NAIA4. If you look at terminal 4 there is a big potential for it, it used to be just a domestic terminal but it is now flying three international destinations in AirAsia Zest alone and there is a possibility to expand it so we are requesting the government,” Caneba said.

She pointed out that the airline is coordinating with the DOTC and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to improve the operations of NAIA4 as it intends to mount more international flights from the said gateway.

“The problem with terminal 4 is that its land bank is already constrained, so the key there is efficiency. What area that you have to reallocate for certain areas and improve it to be able to suit the needs for international travel.

She said NAIA4 has a capacity of 12 million passengers per year.

“There is a plan to rehabilitate it. They are seeing more passengers using it giving them more incentive and motivation to fast track the project,” she said.

Apart from NAIA4, Caneba said AirAsia Zest has plans to use NAIA3 that is being completed by the DOTC.

“We are aggressive in helping terminal 4 to have more flights and to expand more and to catch more traffic. We also support the efforts of MIAA but we also want to have flights in Terminal 3,” she added.