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PASAY City,
one of two cities where parts of the
Ninoy Aquino
International Airport (Naia) are located, now has an
ordinance imposing a P50 fee on all passengers who fly
out through the premier airport.
Since
the Naia has an estimated 10 million passengers last
year, Pasay hopes to earn about P50 million a year from
this new form of tax.
City
Secretary Roberto Yam said the ordinance had been
approved by the city council and signed by Mayor
Wenceslao Trinidad.
Alfonso
Cusi, administrator of the Manila International Airport
Authority (Miaa), has so far not issued any statement on
the ordinance. But the Airline Operators Council (AOC),
whose membership includes all of about 30 international
commercial airlines operating out of the Naia, aired
their concern that the added fee would be another burden
on passengers who already have to pay various fuel and
security surcharges.
They
foresee “many passengers would no longer fly out of the
Naia and would rather use the Mactan-Cebu International
Airport or the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport
if only to avoid paying more fees.”
In that
event, Naia would lose some of its income, which at
present amounts to about P5 billion to P6 billion a
year, the airlines’ group added in their statement.
The AOC
said the Miaa already pays
Pasay
City
a yearly tax so that the new fee would amount to double
taxation. It asked whether the ordinance has the
approval of the International Civil Aviation
Organization, the world body that regulates all airline
charges to passengers.
“Pasay
City is creating a precedent that would be a challenge
to our jurisprudence,” said an AOC officer, who noted
several airlines have already stopped operating in the
Philippines due to high operational expenses. |
