New airline assignments to push through — MIAA
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) announced on Wednesday that the plan for the new airline assignments is now a go.
The MIAA said that four international airlines have committed to use the Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) starting this month.
According to MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal, the transfer is expected to lower the number of international flights at NAIA Terminal 2.
“Pakay dito ay mabawasan ang operasyon ng international flights sa terminal 2. Terminal 2, ginawang domestic terminal iyan; ngayon, combo ng domestic at international,” Monreal said.
(The goal is to reduce the number of flights to and from Terminal 2. It has been turned into a domestic terminal, but it now actually serves a combination of domestic and international flights.)
The new airline assignment is supposed to take effect starting August 31, 2018, but was deferred due to “unforeseen operational constraints.”
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: Airport authorities defer plan for new airline assignments
Article continues after this advertisementMonreal said that the following international airlines “volunteered” to be transferred to the NAIA terminal 3 on different dates:
Qantas Airways — October 28
United Airlines — October 28
Qatar Airways — December 1
Turkish Airlines — January 1
The airport official added that the decision for the airline transfer stemmed from the “safety issue” on passengers using Terminal 2.
Monreal added that the facilities at NAIA Terminal 2 are not suitable for international operations, citing from his personal experience that passengers waiting at the Immigration is long.
“Pag binawasan international operations sa Terminal 2, at mailipat sa Terminal 1, tapos sa Terminal 1, malilipat sa Terminal 3, mababawasan problema natin,” he said.
(If we reduce operations at Terminal 2 and transfer some flights to Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, we can also reduce our problems.)
“Dun ako humuhugot dahil hindi talaga dapat magkaroon ng maraming flights na intl sa 2 dahil hindi ginawa yun for international flights (Terminal 2 was not built for international flights),” he added. /ee
