Clark airport sees surge in passenger traffic

Passengers troop to the Clark International Airport in Pampanga in this photo taken on April 21. The airport has flights to 20 domestic and overseas destinations. INQUIRER file photo / Tonette T. Orejas

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—The Clark International Airport (CRK) in the Clark Freeport north of this Pampanga capital has enjoyed more than double growth in passengers during the April-May period, the private consortium operating CRK reported on Thursday.

International passengers grew from 87,347 to 115,847 while domestic travelers increased from 35,814 to 73,336 during the two months, said Noel Manankil, president and chief executive officer of Luzon International Premier Airport Development (Lipad) Corp., in a statement.

“May is a good month for [CRK]. We celebrated our first anniversary at the new terminal, and we recorded this significant increase,” Manankil said.

In 2019, Lipad won the bid to manage and operate the P15-billion new terminal, funded mainly by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.

The growing demand for air travel and the addition of new routes at the airport have increased the number of passengers at CRK, Manankil added.

Last May, he said the flights totaled 1,537, with 878 flights to international destinations and 659 domestic-bound.

At least 13 airlines now fly to and from CRK and serve routes to and from Bacolod, Caticlan, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Cebu, Coron, El Nido, General Santos, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Bangkok, Busan, Doha, Dubai, Hong Kong, Incheon, Macau, Narita, Singapore, and Taipei, according to Lipad.

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JPV