By means of Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
The CIVIL Aeronautics Board (CAB) will meet with local airlines on Friday (October 18) to discuss the airline’s proposal to collect terminal improvement fees from passengers amid rising charges for using Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Eric Jose C. Ines, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), said the CAB is currently reviewing the proposal of three airlines to collect these additional fees from passengers.
“The consultation is still ongoing and the CAB will look into it immediately,” Mr Ines said by telephone on Wednesday.
“The role of MIAA is only an advisory role. We will meet with CAB and the three local airlines on Friday so that they can justify their reasons,” he added.
MIAA, which has transitioned to its sole regulatory role for NAIA, is acting as an advisory body for the proposed collection of terminal improvement fees, Mr. Ines said.
The local airlines are reportedly looking for an average of P300 per Flight to cover higher operating costs at NAIA.
Apart from the three local airlines: Philippine Airlines operated by PAL Holdings, Inc.; Cebu PaciFic operated by Cebu Air, Inc.; and Philippines AirAsia, Inc. (AirAsia Philippines), Mr. Ines said other foreign airlines operating at NAIA may also seek the same assistance.
“I think the airlines expected that when NNIC (New NAIA Infra Corp.) took over, fees would increase. To cover those costs, they filed this. It is still being requested, whether it is approved or not, it is being evaluated by the CAB,” Mr Ines said, noting that the petition was filed in September.
NNIC, the new operator of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), took over the operation and maintenance of the country’s main gateway on September 1. 14. Landing and take-off fees, a levy collected by airlines for the use of airport facilities and services, were increased this month.
Higher passenger service charges are also planned to be introduced by September 2025.
Enrico P. Villanueva, associate professor at the economics department of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, said airlines are expected to pass on additional costs to passengers.
“As a company, airlines have to pass on additional costs to terminals. It is a misnomer to mention the fee increase when the latter has not already happened,” Rene S. Santiago, former president of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, said in a Viber message.
“The first order of the day should be for the Transportation Department and the MIAA to ask the new operator for a comprehensive list of the new airport charges it intends to apply to passengers and other airport stakeholders,” said Terry L. Ridon, a public investment analyst and chairman of think tank InfraWatch PH.
Nigel Paul C. Villarete, a senior advisor public-private partnership (PPP) at the technical advisory group Libra Konsult, Inc. said the proposed terminal improvement fees are justified as NAIA’s new operator will implement improvements at the airport.
“These will be included in their fixed rates, which they can adjust at any time anyway, so they can simply adjust airport charges accordingly,” Mr. Villarete said in a Viber message.
AirportWatch Philippines spokesperson Danilo Lorenzo S. Delos Santos called the higher fees imposed by NNIC unreasonable and premature as no improvements have yet been made at NAIA.
“It is clear that these increases in airport charges by Administrative Order 1 are not justified as they are being imposed on the public long before any impact of the rehabilitation efforts is felt by all,” Mr. Lorenzo said.
To recall, NNIC previously explained that any fare increases implemented are only in accordance with the parameters and financial conditions set by the Department of Transportation, MIAA, and its project transaction advisor Asian Development Bank during the bidding for the NAIA PPP Partnership Project (PPP).