The Aquino administration wants to know if Clark International Airport in Pampanga can serve as the country’s second main international gateway, and they’re spending P100 million to find out.
 
In a statement, Clark International Airport Corp. president and CEO Victor Jose Luciano said the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is doing a feasibility study on the viability of transforming the international airport in Pampanga as the Philippine gateway after the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
 
“The Aquino government is serious in making Clark International Airport as the main gateway of the country,” Luciano said.
 
Budget carriers use Clark as an operation hub for domestic and international routes, cementing government’s resolve to turn it into a major international airport catering to a rising number of passengers, according to the CIAC official.
 
The carriers are AirAsia Philippines, AirAsia Malaysia, SEAir, Cebu Pacific, Jin Air, and Airphil Express. Asiana Airline also operates at Clark Airport.
 
Luciano noted the proposed feasibility study is separate from the planned P12-billion terminal earlier proposed by CIAC to the department.
 
In addition, Luciano said the agency is also in the process of evaluating the bidding for the P360-million Phase 2 construction to expand the existing passenger terminal.
 
The terminal has a rated capacity of two million passengers a year, which may be insufficient if government is bent on accommodating bigger volumes of passengers, according to CIAC.
 
AirAsia Philippines and Airphil Express intend to launch more international and domestic flights from Clark Airport.
 
Its own data showed that Clark Airport registered a 54-percent growth in passenger volume in the first half due to the higher frequency of flights by both budget and full service airlines.
 
Adding to the traffic in Clark is Dragon Air, a subsidiary of Hong Kong- based Cathay Pacific that started its daily Clark-Hong Kong flights at the on May 29.
 
Weekly airline traffic at Clark Airport is 300 aircraft movements or landings and take offs. weekly. — PDC/VS, GMA News