GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) recently kicked off an Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) program to ensure that the new terminal (Terminal 2, or T2) of Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), will be ready for operations on July 1.
President Rodrigo Duterte led the inauguration of T2 last June 1. T2, which brings the airport’s annual capacity to 12.5 million passengers from the current 4.5 million, will serve as an international passenger terminal.
T2 is part of the P17.52-billion Mactan airport upgrading project, the first airport public-private partnership (PPP) project in the country.
Simulation trials
“The most critical planning aspect towards the opening is the testing of Terminal 2’s operational readiness and the alignment of various processes,” explained GMCAC CEA Andrew Harrison. “We need to ensure, through the ORAT program, that all facilities and processes are ready for commercial operations in July,”
The ORAT Program started in November 2017 with various familiarization training, and walk through around the new terminal for the airport employees.
Ongoing simulation trials involve testing of facilities (Seen here in photo), processes and policies, information technology and airport systems, and manpower readiness.
The trials also comprehensively check all standard operating procedures designed to meet the requirements of airlines, immigration, customs, quarantine, and other airport regulatory bodies.
Over 600 volunteers recruited from MCIA’s facebook page, played the role of passengers during the simulation sessions.