By Recto L. Mercene and Lorenz S. Marasigan
IN the endless debates over why the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (Naia) network of terminals is congested, the problem with General Aviation (Gen-Av)—or the aircraft of private entities whose unscheduled flights compete with commercial airlines in the aviation router—is always brought up.
And yet, for decades, no one has decisively been able to move Gen-Av elsewhere, with aviation experts saying the giants of business and industry obviously will not stand for it and are always successful in putting down proposals to relocate them.
Till now. On Wednesday, Independence Day, the Department of Transportation said the promised freedom from airport congestion may finally see fruition—at least partly, as the DOTr has gotten marching orders from an impatient President Duterte to ensure that all infrastructure work needed to allow Sangley Point in Cavite to host the relocated Gen-Av will be completed by November 2019.
To make this possible, a 24/7 construction schedule was set.
The trigger: lightning
THE announcement by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade that they will relocate the General Aviation sector to Cavite followed Duterte’s directive to ease congestion at the premier airport following a three-hour shutdown of operations last Sunday night, cancelling over 50 flights of Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific.
Duterte made a surprise visit at Terminal 2 of the Naia at 2 a.m. Monday, as he sought to get to the bottom of the latest avalanche of complaints about the premier airport. There, officials of both the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) and PAL explained to him the closure was prompted by the Red Lightning Alert issued by meteorologists. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) issued the alert due to intense lightning activity over the airfield last Sunday, a precaution required under safety protocols since an airport employee was struck dead by lightning at the tarmac a few years ago.
As the DOTr guns to meet the November completion target set by no less than Duterte, Tugade ordered the hiring of additional manpower, extension of work hours and acquisition of new equipment for the ongoing construction works at Sangley.
The Sangley project under the DOTr’s blueprint involves construction works at the runway, apron, passenger terminal building, power supply and drainage system, among others.
“Whatever it takes, we need to make sure that the directive of the President is delivered. Hire more manpower to work 24/7. We need to finish this before the timeline set by President Duterte,” he said.
The 24/7 construction of Sangley—a former communications and hospital site of the United States military, since renamed Danilo Atienza Air Base—started on Thursday, June 13.
Sangley of the past
THE US Navy maintained the Sangley Airport complete with TACAN (tactical air navigation), distance measuring equipment (DME), instrument landing system (ILS) and other aviation- associated facilities so that the P-3 Orion could operate on a 24-hour basis, according to Antonio Paglinawan, a former air traffic controller of the Area Control Center (ACC).
He said Sangley Airport and Subic Naval Base were the home bases of two squadrons (24 aircraft) of US military airplanes that also include Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and Agana Air Base in Guam. Their main headquarters was in Pearl Harbor.
When not engaged in patrolling the oceans, Paglinawan said the four-turbo prop engine plane is heavily engaged with their own weather forecasting service by actually flying into the eye of any storm approaching the Philippines and reporting their findings to Clark.
American pilots took off from runway 07 of Sangley Airport, and headed east toward the Pacific but had to traverse the airspace of the then-Manila International Airport. Thus, they had to coordinate with the ACC so they would not get in conflict with air traffic from the MIA.
Caap’s mandate
TO make Sangley fit for the Gen-Av operations this time around, Tugade has also instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) to “work closely with the DOTr on the civil works so that the support facilities can be immediately incorporated for the airport to commence operations at the soonest time possible.”
To this end, a synchronization matrix will be submitted as a guide for monitoring.
Tugade also ordered the contractor to finish the port for the ferry service to Sangley within two months.
Cavite government proposal
THE national government’s move to develop Sangley as a General Aviation hub in order to decongest the Naia—which will then be limited to just the commercial airlines–is proceeding even as it waits for the local government of Cavite to finalize its unsolicited proposal to develop the air base as an international air hub.
The provincial government of Cavite proposed to develop Sangley Airport as a fully integrated facility with a total capacity of 130 million passengers per year and four runways through 2028. The P552.02-billion unsolicited offer also has a provision for the construction of mass-transit systems and new roads.
Key to its approval is the funding source, which the Cavite government intends to fill by listing P200 billion worth of bonds.
By end of June, the government will decide whether or not to accept the Cavite LGU’s proposal. If it is rejected, the government will entertain a similar private-sector offer from All-Asia Resources and Reclamation, which said it will spend $12 billion to build the Philippine Sangley International Airport.
Whether or not the grandiose plan for an international airport pushes through, the DOTr is determined to make Sangley capable of hosting the Gen-Av operations later this year.
Indeed, the DOTr is heeding Duterte’s promise to airline passengers he would immediately address the problem of congestion when he saw hundreds of domestic passengers stranded at the passenger terminals.
Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo narrated how the President relayed to Cabinet members the details of his surprise visit at the Naia early Monday morning.
Aside from sharing his assessment, Duterte wanted airport security to be handled by a single entity, either from the uniformed services or civilian forces, Panelo said.
Duterte said he wanted to clear Sangley Point in Cavite for the immediate transfer of Gen-Av and the construction of hangars.
Plan from long ago
THE move to transfer the Gen-Av was planned long before the term of former Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Angel Honrado.
Then-Airport Manager Edgardo Manda, during President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s term, started the relocation of Gen-Av to Sangley but succeeded only in driving away about five flying schools. These aviation schools were relocated to Plaridel Airport, Bulacan, to Clark International Airport, Marinduque Airport and Calapan Airport in Oriental Mindoro.
Despite repeated promises by succeeding airport authorities, the transfer to Sangley was never fully complied with.
“At that time we had difficulty convincing the corporate jet owners to transfer to Sangley because they are owned by influential people,” Manda said on Facebook.
This time around, influence is up against political will. Tugade had announced on Monday, at a meeting with aviation officials—Naia General Manager Ed Monreal, Caap Chief Jim Sydiongco and others—that he wants the immediate transfer of Gen-Av from the domestic airport to Sangley in Cavite.
“Owners of Gen-Av aircraft have agreed that they will transfer to Sangley as soon as the hangar facilities exclusively for them are built,” Tugade said on radio.
Among others, Gen-Av executive jets and helicopters are owned by the following: the Soriano and Ayala groups, the companies of Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., San Miguel Corp.’s Ramon Ang, Gov. Chavit Singson, brothers Charlie and Jack Po, and Subic Aviation.
The Miaa said there are 87 companies operating at the Gen-Av area, comprising 47 hectares of prime real estate. Here, the hangars of major government agencies and private companies are also located, including: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, DOTr, National Grid Corp; Asian Aerospace Support Service and Delta Air.
Back in Honrado’s day, the only business that heeded the transfer was the so-called fish run, which airlifts live seafood daily from Palawan and Roxas City to Sangley and onto a Hong Kong-bound airliner on the same day.
The fleet of the fish run consists of World War II vintage propeller-driven airplanes.
PAL’s support
THE move to transfer to Sangley is supported by PAL, which concurs in the notion that moving Gen-Av out of the Naia will ease the ongoing congestion.
PAL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Lucio Tan had said in a statement (July 16, 2016), “We declare our full support to the new government’s decision to move the operations of Gen-Av out of the Naia to either Sangley, Clark or Subic.”
The move by the DOTr, if followed by big-time Gen-Av operators, will significantly decongest the Naia, according to airport insiders.
Any measure to reduce air-traffic congestion at the Naia will not only improve airlines’ flight schedule reliability but also enhance passenger’s convenience, PAL said.
Ferries
THE DOTr is not oblivious to concerns that road traffic from Metro Manila to Cavite could pose a challenge and hinder operations of those using Sangley. Tugade told Cabinet members that they are now testing the concept of using ferries to transport people to Sangley, from the Mall of Asia area, in, believe it or not, 18 to 24 minutes.
“The President directed the operations at Sangley Point to start immediately,” said Panelo, who clarified that the term “immediately” means by November this year.
Under the DOTr, the move to transfer to Sangley has been scheduled by year-end to wrap up the P500-million rehabilitation works at the former military base.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes