CLARK FREEPORT – Fearless forecast: one million passengers.
Regardless of a fortune teller’s crystal ball, officials of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) see a record-breaking one million passengers this year at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here despite worldwide economic woes.
“We see the DMIA soaring higher than last year. There is growing interest of local and international airlines to fly here,” said CIAC President and Chief Executive Officer Victor Jose Luciano.
Exact figures were not immediately available, but an estimated 700,000 passengers were hosted by the DMIA in 2008.
“We are getting more and more confident that we will have as much as one million international passengers this year,” he said.
He noted that DMIA now hosts an average of 77 domestic and international flights per week. Airlines which have regular flights at the DMIA include Tiger Airways of Singapore, Air Asia of Malaysia, Asiana Airlines of Korea, local carriers Cebu Pacific, and South East Asian Airlines (Seair).
Luciano said Spirit of Manila Airlines and Zest Air, formerly Asian Spirit, are slated to mount soon flights at DMIA.
Luciano said his forecast for the airport is further boosted by the launching last Monday of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) project which, he noted, “will standardize and systematize the departmental processes and procedures that cover the passenger facilitation and the passenger terminal operations at the DMIA”.
CIAC is now upgrading its “quality management system” as part of its bid for ISO certification. “The institution of a quality management system at the DMIA will further improve business operations as well as attract more investments which will make the DMIA globally competitive,” he stressed.
Luciano said ISO certification is part of plans to make the DMIA the country’s premiere international airport as directed by President Arroyo.
Last week, Luciano announced that CIAC successfully negotiated for 14 flights per week between Clark and Doha, Qatar.
Luciano dubbed the recently concluded RP-Qatar Air Consultation Talks as a “success for the DMIA”.
He said there are also proposals to extend to Australia flights from Qatar to Clark.
“The Clark-Qatar flights will benefit thousands of our overseas Filipino workers mostly from Central and Northern Luzon provinces,” Luciano said.
At the same time, Luciano said that the success of the ISO project will make travel easier and comfortable for all outgoing and incoming passengers at the DMIA.
He said CIAC has already formed an ISO Committee composed of CIAC employees from various departments “who will work together for the effective and efficient implementation of ISO standards”.
Regardless of a fortune teller’s crystal ball, officials of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) see a record-breaking one million passengers this year at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here despite worldwide economic woes.
“We see the DMIA soaring higher than last year. There is growing interest of local and international airlines to fly here,” said CIAC President and Chief Executive Officer Victor Jose Luciano.
Exact figures were not immediately available, but an estimated 700,000 passengers were hosted by the DMIA in 2008.
“We are getting more and more confident that we will have as much as one million international passengers this year,” he said.
He noted that DMIA now hosts an average of 77 domestic and international flights per week. Airlines which have regular flights at the DMIA include Tiger Airways of Singapore, Air Asia of Malaysia, Asiana Airlines of Korea, local carriers Cebu Pacific, and South East Asian Airlines (Seair).
Luciano said Spirit of Manila Airlines and Zest Air, formerly Asian Spirit, are slated to mount soon flights at DMIA.
Luciano said his forecast for the airport is further boosted by the launching last Monday of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) project which, he noted, “will standardize and systematize the departmental processes and procedures that cover the passenger facilitation and the passenger terminal operations at the DMIA”.
CIAC is now upgrading its “quality management system” as part of its bid for ISO certification. “The institution of a quality management system at the DMIA will further improve business operations as well as attract more investments which will make the DMIA globally competitive,” he stressed.
Luciano said ISO certification is part of plans to make the DMIA the country’s premiere international airport as directed by President Arroyo.
Last week, Luciano announced that CIAC successfully negotiated for 14 flights per week between Clark and Doha, Qatar.
Luciano dubbed the recently concluded RP-Qatar Air Consultation Talks as a “success for the DMIA”.
He said there are also proposals to extend to Australia flights from Qatar to Clark.
“The Clark-Qatar flights will benefit thousands of our overseas Filipino workers mostly from Central and Northern Luzon provinces,” Luciano said.
At the same time, Luciano said that the success of the ISO project will make travel easier and comfortable for all outgoing and incoming passengers at the DMIA.
He said CIAC has already formed an ISO Committee composed of CIAC employees from various departments “who will work together for the effective and efficient implementation of ISO standards”.
