By Butch Fernandez & Recto L. Mercene
THE Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the country’s main gateway which proadministration congressmen want renamed, may soon be known as the “Need Assistance International Airport” due to pandemic restrictions, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto warned Wednesday.
Recto reminded the government that Naia’s immediate problem is not its signage, but its bottom line, noting that the Covid-forced travel lockdown is seen to plunge its 2020 revenues by as much as P10 billion.
Recto said the amount is barely enough for the country’s gateway “to keep payroll and the lights on.”
In a statement, the Senate President Pro Tempore pointed out that “Naia is a corporation, deriving its income from what its users pay, be they airlines or passengers.”
Recto warned that “the disappearance of these customers will severely impact its financials,” noting that on a forecast 3-percent increase in passenger traffic, the four-terminal airport was projecting a gross revenue of P15.43 billion this year.
But if the pandemic-imposed air travel restrictions will continue, he estimates “a 60-percent cut on income will bring down its gross revenues to P6.05 billion, and to P4.53 billion if it will be a deeper 70-percent reduction.”
Recto added in a mix of English and Filipino: “[The] real payroll of Naia is at least P3.3 billion a year, to include contracted services like security and others. Then we still have to pay for water and power, at about P1.5 billion,” citing the corporate operating budget of the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) for FY 2020.
The Naia, he warned, “may have to dig into its reserves” if it relies on its current income to cover payroll and utility bills, adding: “If these will be drawn from just its current income, it may not be enough. It may have to dig into its reserves.”
Recto recalled that Miaa’s “pre-Covid-19” income estimate for 2020 was projected at P5.4 billion from collections on passenger terminal fees, P4.1 billion on aeronautical fees, P2.8 billion on rentals, and the rest, mostly from concessionaire fees.
For this year, the senator notes that “it [Miaa] was expecting 21.7 million departing passengers, net of exempted individuals like OFWs, to pay the terminal fee. Then coronavirus landed, turning the airport into a ghost town.”
He recalled that last year, “it handled 277,530 incoming and outgoing flights, but because of the pandemic, the airport has become a quieter place. No commercial flights, no fees.”
Recto pointed out that even the airport’s income from car parking has taken a hit, from the expected income of P418 million, or P1.15 million daily.
Moreover, the Senate President Pro Tempore noted the Naia’s terminal concessionaires like fastfood outlets, if they have not closed yet, are qualified for various rent forgiveness or deferral modes under government laws and rules.
Recto reminded the national government that Naia also shares its “profits” with the government, remitting P2 billion last year. But for this year, he estimated “it may just be P500 million…and that is a best-case estimate.”
Still, the senator affirmed it is up to the Duterte government’s transportation managers to guide Naia through the downturn. “But if there’s no full resumption, then it will have to change its call sign to ’Need Assistance International Airport.’”
Recto pointed out that “all of Naia’s customers are in distress. PAL and CebPac have in fact sent out financial ’Maydays’. The OFW, which is a large segment, [is also down].” He was referring to Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air.
Airport opens to LSIs
Meanwhile, the premier airport on Wednesday opened its doors to locally stranded individuals (LSIs) who have been forced to spend their days outdoors while waiting for flights to bring them to their home provinces.
“The LSI can now stay inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3,” said airport manager Ed Monreal, following the orders of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.
“Allow them to make the Naia its temporary shelter until they have confirmed flights,” Tugade told Monreal following an ocular inspection and a chance to talk with the LSIs who were complaining that they have nowhere to go except at the airport.
Tugade visited the airport following President Duterte’s statement on Tuesday night, citing stranded individuals sleeping outside the Naia buildings.
Duterte encouraged the airport authorities to accommodate the LSIs until they have scheduled flights.
The chief executive noted the absence of chairs at the Naia Terminal 3, suggesting that airport management add more chairs for the convenience of the riding public.
The Balik-Probinsya program was temporarily suspended as the government has required that all of the LSIs undergo swab testing.
Also, local government units in the provinces have requested the national government to make sure all of the domestic passengers are subjected to Covid-19 swab test before letting them board a plane for domestic destinations.
The country’s major airlines such as PAL, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia resumed domestic operations on June 1.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes
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