CLARK FREEPORT – Arguing that basing turboprop flights to the Clark International Airport here has made domestic travel more difficult and expensive, the Department of Tourism is pushing for their return to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
DOT Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay said they are actively lobbying for the lifting of the restriction that moved the turboprop flights to smaller airports, notably the CRK, starting March 2025 and with October 2025 as completion of transfer.
The decision to move said flights from NAIA came from the Manila Slot Coordination Committee composed of the Department of Transportation, Manila International Airport Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Civil Aeronautics Board, and the New NAIA Infra Corp., to reduce congestion and free up scarce runway slots for larger jet aircraft whereby more passengers will be served.
Angara-Mathay said the restriction had added another layer of difficulty to domestic tourism, already weighed down by rising airfares amid volatile jet fuel prices. “Hopefully, they’ll see that our own people who want to travel cannot travel because you (regulators) have made it more expensive and put more friction into aspirational travel,” the tourism secretary was quoted to have told reporters. “We really should [allow turboprop at Naia again].”
“It’s hard to travel to Clark until the train is finished,” she furthered, referencing the North-South Commuter Railway which CRK station is expected to be operational by 2029.
Even as Angara-Mathay said she had already discussed the matter with Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon and that he appeared open to negotiating the allocation of limited flight slots for turboprop aircraft at the NAIA, any final decision would still rest in the Manila Slot Coordination Committee. With media reports/Photos from web
