Air passengers that travelled via Clark International Airport (CRK) have reached 1 million in January to March this year, the airport’s highest quarterly passenger traffic, according to Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC).

“Six years ago, it was a record number if you hit the one million passenger mark in a year. CRK had 1.3 million and 1.2 million passengers in 2012 and 2013, respectively.  Now, we broke that mark in just three months, so far the highest quarterly figure in the airport’s 24-year history,” said Jaime Melo, CIAC president.

Last January, a total of 364,171 passengers traveled via Clark, the highest passenger count in one month.

“More travelers choose Clark because of congestion in Metro Manila. There are also improvements of terminal facilities here and a more focused and precise operational direction from CIAC management,” Melo said.

Revenues have also increased commensurately, a huge improvement from three to five years ago with more airlines signifying to mount flights, CIAC said.

The surge in CRK passengers is largely attributed to government initiatives in urging local carriers to move some of their operation to Clark.

With a monthly average of 340,000 travelers, CIAC will be able to breach the 4 million passenger mark by end of this year.

A new terminal building will be operational by 2020 and can accommodate an additional 8 million passengers per annum.

CRK’s international destinations include Doha and Dubai in the Middle East, South Korea, Osaka, Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, Singapore and soon Narita, while negotiations are ongoing for airlines to mount Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur flights, among others.

The airport is also connected to major domestic destinations including Cebu, Boracay, Bacolod, Davao and Palawan.

The average daily passenger volume at the CRK is 11,500 and this is served by a total of 734 weekly flights, with 246 international and 488 domestic flights.