By Azer N. Parrocha
MANILA, July 1 (PNA) — After a series of negotiations, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and international air carriers signed on Tuesday an agreement including terminal fee in airline ticket costs.
Under the agreement, MIAA will pay all 34 airlines P150 million a year in total as a service charge for the P550 terminal fee per head.
In turn, air carriers will remit fees to MIAA by less than 3.5 percent. They will keep this as their service fee.
These airlines include Air Asia Zest, Air Asia Inc., Air China Limited, Air Niugini, Air Philippines Corporate (PAL Express), All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd., Asiana Airlines Inc., Cebu Air Inc., Cathay Pacific, China Airlines Ltd. Philippine Branch Office, China Eastern Co. Ltd, China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd., Dragon Air, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airlines, Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, Jeju Air, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysian Airlines System Berhad, Philippine Airlines Inc., Qantas, Qatar Airlines, Royal Brunei SDN Berhad, Singapore Airlines Ltd., Thai Airways, Tiger Airways Singapore Ltd., Kuwait Airways, Jet Star Asia, Saudia Airlines, United Airlines and Eva Air.
The only airline that has yet to sign the agreement with MIAA is Delta Air Lines.
MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, during the signing event, said that long queuing will soon be “a thing of the past.”
“After the check-in counter, passengers can go straight to immigration (without having to line up for terminal fee payment),” Honrado said in an ambush interview with reporters.
He further said that the main advantage of the agreement is that one of the airports’ “major irritants” would be abolished.
Philippine Airlines president Ramon Ang, in a separate interview, welcomed the development, saying that the integration of terminal fees in airline tickets would definitely make travel easier.
Ang further said that airlines should also see this move as an opportunity to provide better service to passengers.
The integration of the program will begin in October this year, with a one-year transition period ending in September 2015. Full implementation of the policy will be in October 2015.
This program applies to international flights only. The P200 domestic terminal fee has been integrated in the cost of domestic air fares since August 2012.
From the P550 international terminal fee being collected by MIAA, P390 is for its share for maintenance and upkeep, P100 goes to the government, and P60 for aviation security. (PNA)