Clark airport running short of flights

At least a thousand OFWs fail to leave daily and facing cancellation of their labor contracts

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga: The open skies policy at the Clark airport has once again been raised by an advocacy group to solve the worsening lack of flights for the increasing number of overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

Renato Diaz, chairman of the Center for Strategic Initiatives said that there is an urgent need for foreign airlines to schedule chartered flights between the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA), the Middle East and the United States.

President and CEO Victor Jose Luciano of Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) called anew to President Arroyo to sign Executive Order 500B that would allow foreign air carriers to operate in the Philippines especially airline from the Middle East for the benefit of OFWs. He added that the shortage of airline seats for OFWs is seriously affecting the country’s ability to supply the rapidly increasing market for Filipino skilled workers.

Luciano and Diaz said that various companies that contract labor have been complaining of lack of seats and airline flights. They expressed fear that the Philippines will lose to other countries deploying to the Middle East simply because they cannot book flights to meet contractual obligations.

On April 4, President Arroyo led the inauguration of the Expanded Terminal of DMIA that would increase passenger capacity to 2 million annually. CIAC is embarking on an ambitious project for the development of the Terminal 2 project that would further increase passenger capacity to 8 million annually for DMIA.

“The government should allow more flights to and from Asean airports to DMIA in Clark to alleviate the shortage. This will allow the OFWs the flexibility of getting connecting flights in Asean airports to their final destinations.” It should be noted that the President has authorized the establishment of a one-stop processing office for the documentation requirements of OFWs at the Clark Freeport thus making it more convenient as the point of departure for most OFWs.

Diaz also said flights to the Middle East are limited due to air rights wherein the Philippine Airlines does not use their entitlements and instead are “selling these to other foreign airlines under code sharing arrangements,” thus reducing the available capacity.

Diaz has proposed a policy change so that local airlines may utilize their entitlements. The policy should be that if they did not fly for three past six months then other local air carriers might be designated by the government to use these entitlements.

When no local carrier is able to provide the equivalent flights then the foreign carrier can be granted these frequencies and any income should go to the Philippine government and not to the local airline, according to Diaz.

Presently, at least 1,000 recruited OFWs failed to leave daily and are facing cancellation of their labor contracts due to the shortage of flights.

Luciano expressed fear that if the flight shortage continues, thou­sands of Filipino workers would lose their chance to work in the Middle East and US. By Mark Louie P. Roxas, Manila Times

RP signs air accord with Macau for more flights

Under the agreement, there will be an entitled 3,600-seat capacity for Manila to Macau flights per week and vice versa. Another 6,000 seats weekly will be allowed for combined weekly flights for Philippine carriers flying from Clark and Subic.

The Philippines has signed an air agreement with Macau providing for more flights to China’s leisure and casino capital, said an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

DFA Undersecretary for Finance and Administration Franklin Ebdalin said the air agreement signed on April 24 in Macau provides for rights for more seat capacity for carriers of the Philippines. Ebdalin is vice chairman of the Philippine negotiating team for air talks with various countries.

Under the agreement, there will be an entitled 3,600-seat capacity for Manila to Macau flights per week and vice versa. Another 6,000 seats weekly will be allowed for combined weekly flights for Philippine carriers flying from Clark and Subic.

Ebdalin also said that outside Manila, there will be 3,500 seats allowed for carriers coming from Cebu, Davao and Tuguegarao.

“We obtained a better deal with Macau because it [referring to the agreement] takes care of all the requirements for all our carriers in terms of seats capacity,” said Ebdalin in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

He said, “This is short of open skies with Macau.”

The DFA official, meanwhile, will leave for Vancouver, Canada, to renegotiate the air agreement signed with the Canadian government owing to the demands for more flights going to North American territory.

The negotiations for expanded air agreement with Canada that will take place over the weekend seeks to allow more flights of up to 14 per week to Canada.

“There is a demand for more seats due to the increase in the number of Filipinos going to Canada, as well as tourists coming from Vancouver, and vice versa,” said Ebdalin.

The air agreement signed with Canada last year only allowed for four flights a week from Manila to Vancouver and vice versa. “We need at least 14 flights a week,” said Ebdalin.

The Philippines is set to negotiate for air agreements this year with countries like Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Russia, Finland, Ukraine and Turkey. By ESTRELLA TORRES - Business Mirror Reporter

PARKING SPACES TO ADDRESS TRAFFIC PROBLEMS

Olongapo City Mayor James “Bong” Gordon, Jr. encouraged business proprietors to consider putting up parking spaces for their establishments.

In the recent flag raising ceremony of city officials and employees at Rizal Triangle Multi-Purpose Center, Mayor Gordon said businessmen in Olongapo should provide parking lots for their vehicles and for their customers as well.

The Mayor said, parking spaces would significantly help reduce the heavy flow of traffic in the city thereby making the roads more convenient and safer for motorists, pedestrians and tourists, alike.

Mayor Gordon also cited that the opening of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) would result to more tourists with their vehicles heading to the city. Thus, parking spaces would somehow lessen traffic problems.

SCTEX connects Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ), Clark Airways and Tarlac for a shorter travel time. It is one among the mega-projects of President Gloria Arroyo intended to transform Central and Northern Luzon into a super region. PAO/jpb/