OFWs still exempted from P550 airport terminal fee

MANILA, Philippines - The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said yesterday overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remain exempted from the P550 terminal fee imposed on international passengers.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport media affairs chief Connie Bungag said OFWs would still be exempted from payment of the terminal fee at the NAIA as mandated by law.

The clarification came amid the planned integration of the international passenger service charge (IPSC) or terminal fee into the price of airline tickets starting October.

Republic Act 10022 or the Amended Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 exempts OFWs from paying the terminal fee.

Bungag pointed out that OFWs would just have to present their OFW employment certificate upon purchase of airline tickets in the Philippines.

For airline tickets with corresponding terminal fee purchased abroad, she said the P550 fee could be refunded at booths to be set up in NAIA.

MIAA is set to sign a memorandum of agreement with international carriers later this month where the IPSC will be integrated by default in the tickets, whether purchased online or through ticketing offices or travel agents.

The one-year transition integration program will start in October while full implementation of the new policy will be in October next year.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said earlier the move would help decongest NAIA.

“It improves traveling convenience and efficiency at NAIA by removing a whole process which unnecessarily adds to the passengers’ processing time, requiring them to line up when payment can be done ahead of time,” Abaya said.

“Moreover, this policy is at par with international standards and practices, since the Philippines is the only member country of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that collects terminal fees on a face-to-face basis at the airport,” he said.

The P550 IPSC collected by MIAA is essential to the continued operations of the airport. Out of this amount, P390 is MIAA’s share for maintenance and upkeep, while P100 goes to the national government, and P60 is for aviation security.

The Department of Transportation and Communications is urging the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority as well as the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to also incorporate the terminal fees in airline tickets in other international airports all over the country. – With Lawrence Agcaoili