NAIA terminal fees to be integrated with airline tickets starting October

Starting October, passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) can expect shorter queues as the airport's terminal fees will be integrated into the prices of their airline tickets.

The Department of Transportation and Communications said the Manila International Airport Authority reached an agreement with representatives of international air carriers for the integration.

"The integration program will begin in October 2014, with a one-year transition period ending in September 2015. Full implementation of the policy will be in October 2015," the DOTC said in a statement posted on the Official Gazette website.

Citing a memorandum of agreement that the Manila International Airport Authority will sign with the air carriers later this month, the terminal fee - formally called the International Passenger Service Charge (IPSC) - will be integrated by default in the tickets, "whether purchased online or through ticketing offices or travel agents."

DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said this will improve traveling convenience and efficiency at NAIA "by removing a whole process which unnecessarily adds to the passengers’ processing time, requiring them to line up when payment can be done ahead of time.”

Quoting MIAA, the DOTC said integrating the terminal fee with the airline tickets will help ease the congestion for departing passengers at NAIA.

It said this will also will free up a big area at the airport since the terminal fee counters can now be removed.

Also, the DOTC said such a policy meets international standards, noting the Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia that "collects terminal fees on a face-to-face basis at the airport."

IPSC

Of the P550 IPSC collected by MIAA, P390 goes to maintenance and upkeep, P100 to the national government, and P60 to aviation security.

The DOTC is conducting upgrading efforts for NAIA Terminals 1 and 3.

Rehabilitation for Terminal 1 involves structural retrofitting, architectural works, and improvement of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection facilities. It is scheduled for completion in January 2015.

Completion works for Terminal 3 may be finished next month, to pave the way for the transfer of five airlines from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 by August 2014.

The five include Singapore Airlines, Delta, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, and KLM Airlines. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News