The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said Monday it expects airlines to sustain their on-time performance (OTP) despite the anticipated increase in passengers during Undas.
Data showed that following a peak OTP of 80 percent in September, which matched the record in March this year, the OTP rating posted further improvement in October.
The MIAA said that over the first 18 days of October, it recorded an average OTP of 82.38 percent from 13,519 flights that operated at NAIA, indicating that most flights departed and arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled time within international standards.
It said that from Oct. 1 to 18, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NIAA) accommodated 2,076,062 passengers, with daily counts varying between 109,000 to 123,000.
MIAA officer-in-charge Bryan Co said he expects the rising trend in OTP to be sustained during the peak season.
He said this would follow the successful operations of “OPLAN Biyaheng Ayos: Semana Santa 2023” in April, which managed 1,179,398 passengers traveling through the nation’s premier gateway over a ten-day period.
The Holy Week peak this year recorded 7,408 flights, averaging 741 flights daily, with an impressive average OTP of 84.76 percent, enhancing NAIA’s operational efficiency during the hectic period and improving the overall terminal experience for travelers.
“With the commitment of our airline and industry partners, we aim to maintain our strong OTP record from the Lenten rush this year,” Co said.
“Our objective is to minimize crowding in passenger and aircraft movement areas through the timely dispatch of flights. We’re striving to establish this as a norm at NAIA,” he said.
Co said airlines also developed contingency plans to avoid compromising passenger comfort. Cebu Pacific, for instance, with the most local destinations, increased its spare aircraft number to mitigate effects of any flight disruptions due to unforeseen incidents.
The budget carrier also teamed up with Terminal 3 food stalls to cater to their passengers during any flight delays or disruptions.
Philippine Airlines recently launched a paid lounge at Terminal 2, offering an additional comfort option for passengers.
AirAsia plans to establish multiple customer help desks at Terminal 2 and promote self check-in through kiosks or the Airasia Superapp.
The Department of Transportation’s nationwide “OPLAN Biyaheng Ayos: Barangay & SK Elections and Undas 2023” will take place from Oct. 27 to Nov. 5. With Joel E. Zurbano