Friday, May 30, 2008 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
TRANSPORTATION Secretary Leandro Mendoza said eight airports would be completed in the next two years.
"By 2010 the Philippines will have airports of international standards to ease traffic and reduce business cost," Mendoza said during the opening of the two-day Expo on International Transportation and Logistics held at the World Trade Center.
He said this year alone, three airports, namely, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3, the Clark or Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) and the Buswanga airport will be opened in November.
Mendoza said they likewise consider opening the Davao-Iloilo Terminal, the Silay-Bacolod airport, the Laguindingan airport and the Panglaw airport in Bohol.
Negotiation for the opening of the Zamboanga airport is also ongoing, he added.
"We expect traffic to double in particular the tourists' arrivals" Mendoza said, adding that this will help decongest the growing passenger traffic in the country.
Records of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed that 11.24 million passengers were recorded last year or an increase of 11 percent from the 10.13 million posted in 2006.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) cornered the bulk with 2.38 million, of which 1.8 million were overseas.
Of the 11.24 million, about 5.8 million were outbound and 5.43 million inbound, higher than the 2006 arriving passengers with 4.56 million and around 5.26 million outbound.
Aside from PAL, Cebu Pacific carried 1.02 million passengers. Cebu Pacific has 12 international destinations while PAL has 25 destinations.
Asian Spirit had 8,052 international passengers as compared to the 5,810 recorded last year.
Meanwhile, foreign carriers Cathay Pacific Airways transported 1.33 million passengers last year; Singapore Airlines, 537,362; Northwest Airlines, 497,916; Japan Airlines, 435,429; Emirates Air, 448,482; and Korean Air, 414,319.
Likewise, CAB reported that domestic passenger traffic last year also increased by 22.7 percent to 10.39 million from 8.47 million in 2006 due to budget fares introduced by several airlines.
Cebu Pacific carried 4.45 million domestic passengers and PAL transported 4.03 million. Air Philippines had 1.17 million domestic passengers; Asian Spirit, 484,482; and Seair, 245,020.
For 2007, the country's domestic load factor was placed at 78 percent up by 73 percent in 2006. (MSN/Sunnex)
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