The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines on Monday awarded eight airports in the country that earned On-Time Performance star ratings in the recent reports released by the Official Aviation Guide or OAG, the air travel intelligence firm based in the United Kingdom.
The special citations were given to Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the provincial airports in Iloilo, Tacloban, Davao, Laguindingan in Cagayan de Oro City, Bacolod, Kalibo, and Puerto Princesa.
The awarding held at CAAP’s office in Pasay City was attended by Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation and Airports Manuel Antonio Tamayo, Manila International Airport general manager Eddie Monreal, Philippine Airlines president Jimmy Bautista, Cebu Pacific Air president Lance Gokongwei, and top aviation officials and airline stakeholders.
The OTP star rating is designed to benchmark against set criteria, defined by industry and flight status information experts. The OTP is measured across the whole year based on 12 months’ rolling performance, CAAP said.
To achieve an OTP star rating, airlines and airports must meet two criteria: they must have a minimum of 600 operations a month (minimum of 2.5-million departed seats) and OAG must receive flight status information for no less than 80 percent of scheduled flights within a 12-month period.
CAAP chief information officer and spokesperson Eric Apolonio said the UK-based OAG provides digital information and applications to the world’s airlines, airports, government agencies and travel-related service companies.
“OAG is best known for its airline schedules database, which holds future and historical flight details for more than 900 airlines and over 4,000 airports,” Apolonio added.
OAG also operates in the United States, Singapore, Japan and China.
During the awarding ceremony, CAAP director general Capt. Jim Sydiongco said the Philippine aviation regulator has been resolute in its efforts to abide by International Civil Aviation Organization guidelines.
Sydiongco added the agency’s performance resulted in obtaining achievements “that have created numerous opportunities for the profitable and sustainable growth of the Philippine civil aviation sector” and provided safe and secure air travel for the Filipino people and the international civil aviation community as a whole.