FORMER Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Richard J. Gordon renewed his call for the immediate reopening and use of the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) as an alternate to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which is undergoing a full electrical audit and is scheduled for closure on May 17.
“It’s about time the original vision of making SBIA the alternate airport to Manila happened. It’s time we Filipinos look at what we have and make good use of it; otherwise, what a waste,” he said in a statement.
For him, such move will show volunteerism, compassion and humanity. He noted: “By using SBIA as an alternate airport, we will prevent the frustration and inconvenience experienced by many passengers who are stranded for hours or days whenever there are issues at NAIA. Nobody gets angry; passengers will get to their destinations without delay.”
A continuity plan is proposed by the Philippine National Red Cross chairman. This includes prior arrangements for buses to transport passengers from one airport to another, highway patrols and hotel accommodations for affected passengers.
He sees that opening anew the SBIA will create more business, tourism and jobs.
Also, it will help minimize the huge stain to the country’s image as well as financial losses, and prevent further passengers’ suffering due to aviation shutdowns.
Last May 1, a power outage disrupted operations at NAIA Terminal 3, causing flight delays and inconvenience to thousands of travelers.
It mirrored a bigger mishap on New Year’s Day, when a glitch in the air traffic control system disrupted nearly 300 flights, stranding 65,000 passengers.
Based on SBIA’s previous performance, Gordon believes that Subic airport’s immediate reopening and use is feasible.
From 1995 to 2009, the operations of FedEx at Subic involved an average of 18 flights daily of a fleet of cargo aircraft such as Boeing and Airbus planes. Presidential planes landed at SBIA during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting in 1996.
Prior to its modernization, SBIA, sans an instrument landing system, was used to land flights diverted from Manila. This includes a China Airlines plane, which had a flight crash land in NAIA in 1995. Gordon, who was the chairman of SBMA back then, quickly took over to divert all the planes from Manila to Subic.
The former senator envisions the Philippines with three operating international airports in Manila; Clark, Pampanga; and Subic Bay in Zambales. According to him, the NAIA fiascos lately can be considered criminal neglect.
Image credits: US Navy