News
New Manila airport planned for 2026-30, with Boracay runway extended
March 11th 2016
Philippines secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication, Joseph Abaya, said a new airport for the fast growing capital of Manila will be ready in the next 10 to 15 years. Read More » The capital’s Aquino International Airport (NAIA), is operating beyond its design capacity of 32 million passengers a year and its ATM and ATC systems are regarded as archaic and inefficient. As well, the airport frequently shuts down completely “for security reasons” when heads of state visit the Philippines.
Secretary Abaya confirmed two sites are being evaluated for the new airport with both of them in a 20 kilometre radius from the capital’s Makati CBD. One site has been identified as Sangley Point in Cavite. Abaya could not confirm if building the new facility would seal the fate of NAIA or if both airports might be run simultaneously.
Decrying the Manila airport fiasco, Cebu Pacific Air vice-president commercial planning, Alexander Lao, asked the government for “predictability” on the timeline of infrastructure projects so his airline could better plan the carrier’s operations. Lao’s concerns were echoed by Philippines AirAsia CEO, Joy Caneba, when she spoke to Flightglobal at Routes Asia.
She said she is struggling to acquire new slots at NAIA. “It’s easy to put an aircraft into operation, but where do you actually park it and do you have slots for routes to develop for it?” Caneba asked. “With the oil price down, everyone has been trying to put in as much growth as they can. Everyone is racing for slots, but when can we actually get them? It’s delaying our plans. It’s a struggle at the moment.” The Philippines AirAsia CEO said the carrier is forecast to make a profit in 2016.
The news from sunny Boracay Island is much better. Caticlan Airport has extended its single runway to 1,800 metres to allow it to receive A320 and B737 narrow bodies once certification is completed. Until now, the airport could only accommodate turboprops, which were flying almost by the hour to Manila and less frequently to Cebu. The airport will open a new terminal next year to attract more tourists, particularly from China, Hong Kong and Korea.
The Caticlan runway extension is good news for Cebu Pacific and full-service Philippine Airlines (PAL). Both have been profitable in the past reporting periods and continue to focus on route and fleet expansion.
Last week, PAL said it was evaluating the launch of a direct Manila-Phnom Penh service later this year. Following its February order for six A350s, plus six options, PAL intends to announce new destinations in Europe and a nonstop service to New York “in due course”.
