MANILA, Philippines — Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas revealed that 46 out of the country’s 86 airports are lying idle and “just growing grass and weeds.”
Roxas said only 40 of the country’s 86 airports are being used for or scheduled flights.
With this discovery, Roxas said the government has to prioritize spending on airports that are being utilized.
“Government money is very limited. Do you want us to spend for all 86 or spend for the 40 or spend on what the DoT (Department of Tourism) tells us where the tourists are going?” he asked.
Concerning the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Roxas said the government is constrained to “live with it” for now.
“We have to live with the 30-year-old structure. The only thing we can do is fix it. But fixing it cannot be made overnight,” Roxas said.
He said the government will give NAIA Terminal 1 a facelift to counter its latest rating as the “worst airport in the world.”
Roxas said the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) will implement a makeover program for NAIA 1 while working on the eventual relocation of the entire airport operations to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark, Pampanga.
NAIA 1, which serves international flights, was adjudged as No. 1 among the “Worst Airports in the World” by the “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports.” Various travelers and airport reviewers complained about NAIA 1’s “lack of safety concerns, lack of comfortable seating, rude staff, hostile security, poor facilities, no (or few) services to pass the time, bribery, being kicked out, and general hassles of being in the airport.”
“We have a NAIA 1 ‘Hilamos’ program wherein we will fix our ‘front door’ to make it bearable and presentable,” Roxas said.
Roxas rejected the proposal to move international flights from the 30-year-old NAIA 1 to the relatively newer NAIA Terminal 3, which was opened to selected domestic flights in 2008.
“There’s no point moving international flights to NAIA 3 because NAIA 1 already serves 10 million passengers a year just like NAIA 3. We will just have disruptions in operation for no additional growth,” he said.
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By: Kris Bayos
Source: Manila Bulletin, October 19, 2011
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