Clark International Airport ends 2017 with record high passenger traffic

MANILA, Philippines – Clark International Airport, Metro Manila’s 2nd main gateway, saw a record high of over 1.5 million passengers passing through its facility in 2017. 

This is mainly brought by the new Clark flights launched by local and international airlines this year. (READ: Work begins on Clark International Airport expansion)

Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) president Alex Cauguiran said in a statement that the airport’s 2017 passenger traffic even surpassed its highest record of over 1.3 million passengers served last 2012.

The Clark airport president said the gateway now accommodates 200 international and domestic flights from Clark, from only 7 domestic flights a week in the previous years.

He then praised Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, who he said, had “worked very hard to turn the President’s vision into reality.”

Upon assumption into office, Tugade had been encouraging airlines to launch more flights from Clark to decongest Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Tugade had also asked some local airlines to transfer their general aviation activities in Clark airport. 

The transportation chief also instructed CIAC to provide incentives to airline operators who express their willingness to fly from Clark.

Expansion plans

Last December 20, some of the country’s top government officials graced the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Clark airport passenger terminal building. 

Spanning around 100,000 square meters, including landside and airside facilities, the new terminal is designed to accommodate an additional 8 million passengers every year and is expected to be completed by 2020.

The group of publicly-traded Megawide Construction Corporation and Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure Limited bagged the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) deal for the Clark airport terminal after it offered the “lowest calculated responsive bid.”

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority is expected to bid out the operations and maintenance of the Clark International Airport to the private sector next year.

The Clark International Airport is one of the high-impact projects under the Duterte administration’s ambitious Build, Build, Build program. – Rappler.com