CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga – Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) president and CEO Emigdio Tanjuatco III said on Thursday that the Clark International Airport (IATA: CRK) is ready to accept a “well-planned and coordinated” transfer of flights from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Metro Manila.
Tanjuatco has been pushing for the full utilization and development of Clark for the past years.
“If there is a government directive or policy to redistribute aircraft traffic from NAIA, it is a welcome development for the Clark airport. However, it must be a well-planned, coordinated program along with national government support to build more infrastructures at the 2,367-hectare Clark Civil Aviation Complex,” Tanjuatco said in a statement.
He noted that the passenger terminal can only accommodate around 4.8 million passengers per annum compared to NAIA’s 30 million passengers per annum capacity.
Thus, it will be difficult to accept all NAIA flights considering the current limited infrastructure of Clark. But with government support this is achievable, he added.
Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade has already said that several domestic flights at NAIA will be transferred to the Clark airport as part of the government’s program to decongest Metro Manila.
The government has also announced plans to build a road network, including a railway system that will connect Manila to Clark.
Tanjuatco, however, stressed that government support is vital for the development of the Clark International Airport.
He cited that the government has already allocated at least Php15 billion for the development of a new passenger terminal that can accommodate an additional eight million passengers per annum that will further boost passenger capacity for Clark Airport./PNA/BNB/ZST/MDDR/PS