Tacloban airport fee hiked after runway fixed

TACLOBAN CITY—Less than a month after operations at the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport returned to normal, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is increasing the terminal fee to P150.

Starting June 1, the CAAP will collect an additional P50 in terminal fee at the biggest airport in Eastern Visayas.

The DZR, considered the premier airport of Eastern Visayas, hosts 12 daily flights covering the Manila and Cebu routes, with more than a million passengers.

Antonio Alfonso, CAAP area manager, said the increase was necessary to sustain the repair work in the facility.

It was the third and last tranche in terminal fee adjustments which started in 2013. It will take effect in June.

The amount used to be P30, but it was raised to P75 on July 1, 2013 and to P100 on June 1, 2014.

Alfonso said the increase was a result of a public consultation conducted by the CAAP and the Department of Transportation and Communications in 2012.

It was then agreed that the new charge would be collected on a staggered basis. The increase, airport officials said, became more important because of the damage brought to the airport by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) on Nov. 8, 2013.

At least 638 meters of the runway had to be repaired.

Repair on a 300-meter stretch was finished in February though it was suspended twice to accommodate the influx of passengers for the holiday season and the visit of Pope Francis to Leyte province that attracted close to 200,000 visitors in January.

On April 14, airport operations were limited to small planes to pave the way for completion of repair work. Full operation resumed on May 7.

Less than a month later, the terminal fee was increased.

Alfonso said the adjustment would pave the way for better service at the terminal building.

“Our terminal building is now far better compare to pre- Yolanda years,” he said.

Passenger Meniang Santos said she found the P150 terminal fee “reasonable.”

“I think the money that they collect from passengers will be used to improve the airport,” Santos said.

She said she noticed that the terminal building now is more spacious with more than enough seats for passengers.

Even the air-conditioning system improved, she added.

Terminal fees are one of the sources of income of the CAAP in Tacloban.