MANILA, Philippines — The private operator of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has removed abandoned cars in parking spaces, and has now shifted to clearing idle aircraft in airside facilities.
New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) has called on the owners of 27 aircraft abandoned in the general aviation area of the gateway to retrieve them as soon as possible.
Otherwise, NNIC said it would enforce applicable rules and regulations to dispose of the units, as it has to recover the lots they are occupying and use them for airport upgrade.
NNIC said some of the aircraft have become idle for years now, but the owners never took the time to remove them from NAIA. The NNIC underscored the urgency of getting rid of these aircraft to maximize every space of the airport for passenger service.
As confirmed by aviation regulators, a Cessna 421B has been parked in one area of NAIA since 2009. Further, a Boeing 737-200 has been sitting on 865.52 square meters of space at the North Taxiway Extension since 2015.
“Their continued presence limits operational capacity and poses safety and security risks,” NNIC said.
“Clearing these aircraft will also free up space critical to improving aircraft parking and ground movement, especially as NAIA continues to experience growth in traffic,” NNIC added.
NNIC has sought the help of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the Manila International Airport Authority in issuing formal notices to the owners of the aircraft.
When NNIC took over NAIA last year, one of the first things it did was clear the parking lots of abandoned cars, some of which have been left there since 2014. Afterward, NNIC hiked parking fees to discourage leaving cars overnight.
Likewise, NNIC found it necessary to build a dedicated hub for ride-hailing services to centralize passenger bookings in one area. The concessionaire also saw the need to lessen the volume of vehicles entering departure and arrival bays.
NNIC, led by San Miguel Corp., is tasked to undertake quick fixes and long-term upgrades for NAIA through its P170.6-billion concession to operate and maintain the gateway.
The concessionaire has to invest in projects and solutions that would increase NAIA’s passenger capacity to 62 million per year and aircraft movement to 48 an hour.
