The Transportation Department awarded a P66-million consulting contract to a British company to manage air traffic at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The agency said it awarded the Ninoy Aquino International Airport runway optimization project to the joint venture of NATS Services Limited and Schema Konsult Inc.
NATS provides air traffic navigation services to the world’s busiest single- and dual-runway airports, including London Gatwick which handles 53 air traffic movements an hour and over 250,000 flights annually, and London Heathrow which handles 90 ATMs per hour and over 470,000 flights a year.
Under the contract, the joint venture will increase hourly air traffic movements at Naia from 40 per hour to 60, by determining the optimal configuration for the airport’s intersecting runways over the next 12 months.
NATS is the same group that boosted runway capacity at the Hong Kong International Airport by 30 percent. It also redesigned Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport’s airspace, and is now tasked to increase ATMs at the Singapore Changi Airport.
“We are excited to work with one of the world’s best firms in the industry towards optimizing Naia’s runway capacity. With NATS – which has worked on the Dubai, Singapore, and Heathrow Airports – we can expect safer, more efficient operations, and much less flight delays and cancellations,” Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said.
NATS will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the airport’s current airspace, runway, and terminal capacities; air traffic and surface operation; runway access points; and AT training in the first six months.
The Manila International Airport Authority and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines will then implement the recommendations over the following six months.
These agencies also implemented certain steps to help ease runway congestion, such as the reactivation of Runway 31 in July and the relocation of general aviation activities.
A study by Japan International Cooperation Agency showed Naia would hit overcapacity this year, with its passenger terminals handle 37.78 million passengers. By 2040, passenger traffic would reach 101.49 million.
Naia accommodated 31.88 million passengers, exceeding the 30 million yearly optimal capacity of the terminal as early as 2012. Its maximum handling capacity stands at 35 million passengers a year.
Jica proposed a P435.93-billion international gateway in Sangley Point in Cavite to ease air traffic congestion in Metro Manila.