Challenging the status quo

The new private operator of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has ruffled more than a few feathers in its bid to restore NAIA’s lost glory.

Well-entrenched individuals and groups, or syndicates to be blunt about it, who for decades have treated the country’s premier gateway as their milking cow, understandably want to maintain the status quo.

They are now demonizing the New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC), which was earlier awarded a contract by the government to rehabilitate, manage and operate NAIA, and are criticizing every step the private company is taking to improve airport operations obviously to turn public sentiment against privatization.

NNIC, which includes San Miguel Corp. and Korea’s Incheon International Airport Corp., will operate NAIA for 15 years, extendable for 10 more years.

If NNIC can make NAIA more profitable, that will be good for the government, which will receive an 80-percent share of the revenues. A more efficient NAIA will also be good for the economy, as it will give visitors a better first and last impression of the country.

What are some of the changes that are forthcoming?

The Philippine Aerospace Development Corp. (PADC), a government-owned and controlled corporation, has three lease contracts with the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), which used to operate NAIA. The first covers a 20,000-square-meter property for which it pays 20 centavos per square meter, and which it subleases to an airline company for P314 per sqm. The second is a 2,555-sqm property, which it also leases from MIAA at 20 centavos per sqm, and is subleased to a private company for an average of P257 per sqm. The third property, covering 5,723 sqm is leased to PADC for 60 centavos per sqm and is being used as PADC’s office.

PADC’s rates from MIAA have remained unchanged for the last 50 years.

There are plans to increase the rate collected from PADC to P700 per sqm., which is still reasonable given the current rates for surrounding properties.

Then there’s the matter of parking.

Finding a parking slot at NAIA has always been a nightmare.

Residents from surrounding hotels and condominiums use the NAIA parking lot and leave their vehicles overnight because the rate is dirt cheap at P300 for overnight parking. Public utility vehicles use the NAIA parking lot as their garage. Some airline passengers leave their vehicles for weeks or for the duration of their travel. Immigration personnel have a dedicated parking area of 500 slots, which is far higher than the actual number of immigration employees assigned at NAIA.

Data from NNIC reveals that of the 8,000 parking slots available at NAIA 1, 2, 3 and 4 terminals, around six percent, or 500 slots, are being used for overnight parking at cheap rates. The remaining 94 percent is used for an average of zero to two hours.

For the first time in over a decade, the parking rates will be adjusted in line with an administrative order issued by MIAA, which still acts as regulator and was approved through a Cabinet resolution. The MIAA AO was issued even before NNIC assumed airport operations and is said to be the result of a comprehensive review of fees for various regulated airport services.

According to NNIC, the previous parking rates unintentionally encouraged misuse of the airport’s limited parking spaces. Many individuals and nearby establishments with no airport-related business took advantage of the low rates for overnight or long-term parking, contributing to a parking shortage for passengers and adding to congestion and frustration.

It said that by discouraging long-term and overnight parking, the new rates will reduce the number of vehicles circling the airport in search of spaces, easing traffic flow and improving the overall airport experience.

The first two hours of parking will now cost P50, up from the previous P40. The new rate, however, is still at par with rates at other commercial establishments, such as malls. Meanwhile, a 24-hour stay will now cost P1,200 for cars, P480 for motorcycles and P2,400 for buses, compared to the old flat rate of P300.

The old rate was far cheaper than the P530-per-day rate of private operator Park ‘N Fly.

NNIC also said that some existing fixed-rate monthly parking agreements will not be renewed to free up more parking spaces for passengers. We were told that certain private individuals were allowed to avail of overnight parking services for only P700 a month, while some government officials were paying only P350 per month.

Abusado is too mild a term to describe the current kalakaran or practice at NAIA.

NNIC emphasized that the adjustments are not intended to generate profit but to optimize parking for passengers.

But what about the airline crew?

This should not be a problem since airline companies usually provide pilots, stewards and stewardesses free shuttles to and from the airport. For airline companies that still do not do this, they better start doing it.

To provide a seamless and positive travel experience at NAIA, the company plans to increase parking capacity by building new facilities, starting with Terminal 3, which currently accommodates 65,000 to 68,000 passengers daily.

For his part, Transportation Secretary Jimmy Bautista said there should actually be no overnight parking at the airport.

Aside from parking fees, other airport fees have already increased, including landing, take-off and even aircraft parking fees, which were all part of the MIAA administrative order reviewed by the Asian Development Bank. Terminal fees, meanwhile, will be increased next year.

Other changes are forthcoming.

Instead of baggage passing through X-ray machines before being placed on the baggage conveyor belts, the X-rays will be moved to the area just after Customs. This will prevent unscrupulous personnel from opening bags containing valuable items or demanding fees in exchange for overlooking bags with suspicious-looking contents.

The much-abused VIP passes, which are used to meet and greet not just VIPs but anyone who knows someone inside NAIA, will soon be a single-use pass instead of an annual unlimited pass.

Expect NNIC to continue being portrayed as the “bad guy” by those who have benefited from the previous practices.

For comments, email at [email protected].