Cusi to meet NAIA personnel

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Alfonso Cusi will hold another meeting with airline operators, stakeholders, and other representatives of the aviation sector today to further discuss plans to implement a time slotting scheme for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The project, which seeks to maximize the use of NAIA’s single runway system by balancing the number of flights to specific hours of the day so as to address the problem of congestion during peak hours, is reportedly getting positive feedback from concerned parties.

MIAA assistant general manager for airport development and corporate affairs, Tirso Serrano, said today’s meeting will include pilots since it is important to hear their stand as actual runway users.

“We are pursuing intensive coordination with airline operators, the Air Transportation Office, and other members of the aviation sector,” he said in an interview.

“We’re going to meet them again to discuss possible guidelines for the time slotting scheme,” he told The Star expressing confidence that Cusi’s latest idea of improving services at the NAIA will be accepted by players and will yield positive results.

Serrano said the project, once implemented, will decongest NAIA’s runways because there will be more flights scheduled on off-peak hours.

 “This will form part of airport development projects we are pushing for. This meeting will involve airline pilots since we want actual practitioners to provide us first hand information based on actual experience,” he added.

 Cusi introduced his idea of implementing a time slotting scheme earlier this month after a meeting with representatives of the aviation sector and forming committees to study the same.

NAIA currently operates two runways, the 0624 which accommodates wide-bodied jets as the main runway for international flights, and the 1331 which is used for domestic flights. Time slotting aims to balance daily flight schedules with peak and off-peak hours, the needs of the traveling public, and the supply and demand factor.

Serrano earlier said that the current system congests NAIA’s runways because flights are being scheduled at the same hours of the day, usually from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.   – Michael Punongbayan