Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport is set for further expansion with the planned opening of a third terminal by the end of this year. However, the project is mired in controversy because the prime contractor has been slow to reveal its planned handling charges, while PAL does not want to split its international and domestic operations, currently housed in Terminal 2.
Foreign airlines serving the airport are in dispute with Philippine International Air Terminals (PIATCO), the consortium building the third terminal, over operator charges.
The local Board of Airline Representatives (BAR) recently wrote to PIATCO warning that its member airlines would not enter discussions on moving their operations to Terminal 3 unless the contractor revealed its proposed pricing structure.
The terminal is due to open in December and handle all international flights to and from Manila, including those of Philippine Airlines (PAL).
BAR is concerned airlines will face a hike in airport fees when they move to Terminal 3, but the lack of firm information from PIATCO has hampered their efforts to set fares for this year's winter timetable, according to industry sources familiar with the dispute.
Meanwhile, PAL is vigorously opposing moves to force it to split its domestic and international operations when the new terminal opens. The Philippine flag carrier houses its entire operation in Terminal 2, while foreign airlines use Terminal 1 and domestic airlines other than PAL operate from a dedicated domestic terminal.
Under plans endorsed by the government, PAL will be forced to move its international flights to Terminal 3 alongside the foreign operators, leaving the domestic carriers room to move in to Terminal 2 where PAL's domestic operations will remain. Terminal 1 will be shut down. "PAL doesn't want to split its operations once again," says the airline's president and chief operating officer, Avelino Zapanta. "What we've said is that we are willing to move to Terminal 3 if our international and domestic operations are accommodated there. Otherwise we will be losing a lot of money and our creditors will not allow it.
"The government and PIATCO are talking now because we have made clear our conditions for operating in Terminal 3. We want to operate under one roof because that's what our passengers want."
Under current plans, passengers transferring between the domestic and international terminals will be carried on buses using a new access road, rather than via a tunnel as originally envisaged.
The troubled Terminal 3 project is also the subject of intense talks between Frankfurt airport operator and 30%-PIATCO shareholder Fraport and the Philippine government over the reluctance of some financial backers to release all of the required funding.
Source: Flight International
