DOTC: NAIA runway to be decongested

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is now working to decongest the runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as part of efforts to make further improvements at the country’s main international gateway.

While some improvements have been undertaken at NAIA, DOTC Secretary Joseph Abaya said in a statement yesterday the government is now looking to ease congestion at the runway of the airport.

“Having fully opened Terminal 3 and substantially refurbishing Terminal 1 after decades of neglect, our next focus is decongesting the runway,” he said.

British air traffic management expert NATS Services Ltd. which was tapped by the DOTC for its NAIA Runway Optimization Project, has started gathering data at the airport this week.

Under the 12-month contract, NATS is tasked to increase the hourly air traffic movements to 60 from 40, by determining the optimal configuration for the airport’s intersecting runways.

Over a period of six months, NATS will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the airport’s current airspace, runway, and terminal capacities; air traffic and surface operations; runway access points; and ATC training.

For the succeeding six months, the Manila International Airport Authority and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines will implement NAT’s recommended improvement measures.

The latest survey for travel website The Guide to Sleeping in Airports showed the NAIA was no longer in the list of the 10 worst airports in the world given rehabilitation efforts undertaken to decongest and clean up Terminal 1.

While NAIA was not part of the latest 10 worst airports in the world list, it ranked eighth worst airport in Asia.

NAIA was tagged the worst airport in the world from 2011 to 2013.

In a related development, the DOTC has received the pre-feasibility study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the location of the country’s new international airport.

Abaya said the study which considered five locations, has narrowed down the options to two: Sangley Point in Cavite and Central Manila Bay.

The estimated cost for putting up the airport in Sangley Point is $10 billion, while locating in Central Manila Bay would amount to $13 billion.

Abaya said the DOTC expects to get the full feasibility study after the first quarter of next year and present it to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board for approval.

“We’ll merely reiterate what the JICA study says…Whatever the JICA study shows, we’ll present to NEDA Board,” he said.