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Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Airport congestion

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The Philippines needs an alternative gateway to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport soon to avoid Sunday's embarrassing incident.

Naia, the country's premier gateway, has outlived its main design and is no longer capable of meeting the increased traffic demand from both air passengers and airplanes. Flight delays, or even cancellations, are no longer unusual at Naia.

Airport congestion

A severe lightning alert on Sunday night affected over 60 domestic and international flights after ground controllers suspended all movement and operations for three hours in all three Naia terminals. Airport authorities diverted seven of those flights to Clark International Airport in Pampanga, while more than 50 scheduled to depart from Manila were delayed.

The suspension of ground operations naturally resulted in congestion above and on the airport terminals. Local airport authorities noted that domestic flights departing Manila were crammed during daytime due to the inability of provincial airports to receive flights at night. The situation contributes to heavy traffic at Naia, which has only two runways handling both international and domestic flights.

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The government clearly must designate an alternative airport as an interim measure to unclog Naia. President Rodrigo Duterte's quick response to transfer domestic flights to Sangley Air Base in Cavite province looks plausible for the meantime, although more logistics must be worked out by the government to ease the transportation inconvenience of air travelers.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has already ordered the 24/7 construction and upgrade of the Sangley Airport to meet the November deadline set by President Duterte. But the transportation chief must assure the seamless transfer of passengers from the Cavite province to the main thoroughfares of Metro Manila.

Pending the construction of a new airport or a major upgrade of Clark, the Sangley Airport in Cavite can provide a temporary solution to the Naia congestion. But the government by this time should already be implementing a more permanent solution to the airport congestion to keep travelers safe and lure more foreign tourists.

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