|
AFTER
repeatedly eschewing popularity for difficult reforms,
President Arroyo on Thursday gave her administration a
pat on the back as she set foot on a gleaming Ninoy
Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (Naia 3), which
opened its doors.
“The
commercial opening [of Naia 3] is a result of the
resolve to move forward,” she said in a brief speech
after she debarked from a chartered jet from a visit to
Cebu City.
Upon
entering the door, she was met by Philippine Airlines
(PAL) chairman and CEO Lucio Tan, who had earlier
presided at the blessing and opening of the PAL Express
and Air Philippines check-in counters.
The
President thanked those who made the Naia 3 opening
possible, describing the gleaming terminal as a gateway
to the world and a showcase of the country’s tourism.
The
President’s presence marked the transfer of flights of
two Tan-owned low-fare units, PAL Express and Air
Philippines, to Terminal 3. It was the first time she
visited the terminal since it opened to commercial
operations early this week.
She
immediately conducted an inspection tour of the terminal
in the company of Tan, Cebu Pacific president and CEO
Lance Gokongwei, ranking government officials and other
guests.
Tan
opened the PAL Express and Air Philippines check-in
counters, then personally welcomed passengers bound for
Boracay and Bacolod. He was assisted by PAL president
Jaime Bautista and other senior PAL executives.
PAL
Express and Air Philippines both moved their operations
to Naia 3 Thursday. Regular PAL domestic and
international jet services, however, still conduct
business from the current hub at Naia Centennial
Terminal 2.
Meanwhile, PAL reminded passengers on Pal Express and
Air Philippines flights from Manila, as well as those
holding PAL tickets on Air Philippines-operated
code-share flights, to take note of their new departure
point on Naia 3, located on Andrews Avenue, opposite the
Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Pasay City.
Actually, Thursday was the second time that the
President stepped into Naia 3, the first when she flew
in on June 30 among the passengers who deplaned from a
PAL Boeing 747-400 that arrived at 2:50 am from San
Francisco, the last stop of her visit to the United
States.
That
regular PAL flight, PR-105, became the first commercial
flight to operate at Naia 3.
Thursday’s transfer of PAL Express (which operates 75
flights peer week) and Air Philippines (56 flights per
week) makes the combine the largest operator at Terminal
3.
During a
brief program following the blessing of the PAL
affiliates’ check-in counters, the carrier’s president
Jaime Bautista, said, “The modern functionality of the
new terminal fittingly complements the level of quality
service offered by PAL Express and Air Philippines.”
“Gracious cabin service will now be preceded by the
ambiance of a world-class airport terminal,” Bautista
said.
He said
PAL is glad to be one of the first, if not the first, to
use the new terminal whose creation “germinated from the
vision of chairman Dr. Lucio Tan.”
Former
Australian Chamber of Commerce president Peter Wallace,
who was invited to attend, along with members of the
Joint Foreign Chamber of Commerce, was impressed by the
building’s modernity.
“This
building is really impressive, it really looks modern
and workable, and I think it’s a good idea, if you like
to call it a soft opening, but it’s necessary now to
finalize negotiations with Piatco and Fraport resolve
the differences and get the money paid so legal titles
can be transferred, and we can get the use of the
international terminal as well.”
He added
that Naia 3 would not immediately impact on the economy
but the impression it would give to foreigners would be
the terminal’s positive contribution.
“Since
the Naia Terminal 1 is a disastrously old building that
does not give a good impression of the country, once
this [Naia 3] is open to international and you got the
international business in, it would make a significant
impression on businessmen and there would be more
[people] inclined to invest,” Walace added.
Airport
general manager Alfonso Cusi said the Miaa management
said, in the next few months, they “hope to service
international flights as well.”
The Naia
3 project was undertaken to ease the congestion in
Terminal 1, which was opened in 1982 with a design
capacity of 4.5 million passengers a year, but which was
exceeded when Naia 1 registered 10.2 million passengers
last year. |
