Another reason for a new airport
Xiamen Air MF866 incident of some two weekends ago underscores a point that has been repeated all too many times already — that we urgently need a new international airport to serve the Greater Metro Manila region and in turn the rest of the country. This is absolutely essential to any push for our economy to reach a higher plane and spread more wealth around the country.
Over the years, several studies and assessments were conducted on the cost of NAIA’s congestion to the economy, totaling billions of pesos from wasted fuel, lost productivity, and all sorts of inefficiencies.
These prompted several plans aimed at solving the problem — from rehabilitating NAIA’s radar systems and expanding the capacity of Clark, to building an entirely new airport outside of the Metro. And while some improvements have been introduced to NAIA and Clark in recent years, government has yet to take any decisive action on the larger proposals.
in light of the Xiamen Air incident, Transportation Secretary Art Tugade reiterated his agency’s commitment to pursuing a “multi-airport” strategy, which is to prioritize proposals on the construction of two new air gateways — one in Sangley, Cavite, and another in Bulakan, Bulacan.
This is welcome, especially since some of the world’s biggest and busiest cities are served by multiple airports. For instance, those flying to London from abroad often land in Heathrow Airport, the world’s second busiest airport (next only to Dubai International). But in fact there are five others — namely London City, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and Southend — through which travelers can enter the larger metropolitan area immediately around London.
New York City and certain parts of New Jersey near it are served by three airports — namely, John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty, and LaGuardia. The same is true for Washington, DC, with Ronald Reagan Washington National, Dulles International, and BaltimoreWashington International.
In Japan, those flying to Tokyo can enter either through Haneda or Narita, while in Thailand, one can enter Bangkok via Don Mueang International or Suvarnabhumi.
Having at least one more major or primary airport serving the Greater Metro Manila Region opens up all sorts of opportunities and benefits. For one, our tourism would definitely boom as more foreign visitors avoid the agony of enduring a slow-moving NAIA embattled by over-capacity.
An additional air gateway also jives with the Department of Tourism’s ongoing strategy to pursue growth through cluster destinations or so-called tourism development areas (TDAs), which are groupings of adjacent LGUs that can build on each other’s success. For these TDAs to succeed, there must be entry points or “gateways” that adequately serve the demand for the covered destinations.
Noted academic and business thinker Michael Porter wrote in a seminal 1999 Harvard Business Review article that linkages or “complementarities” between businesses or industry stakeholders result in “a whole greater than the sum of its parts.” He noted that this was particularly true in tourism, where the tourist’s quality of experience “depends not only on the appeal of the primary attraction but also on the quality and efficiency of complementary businesses such as hotels, restaurants, shopping outlets and transportation facilities. (Emphasis added)”
Yet the benefits of having multiple airports go beyond tourism. A February 2017 Arangkada Philippines policy note emphasized that air transport could even spur innovation and achieve efficiencies through the clustering of firms around an airport. Under such “aerotropolis development model,” not only companies in aviation training or maintenance and repair would benefit, but also those involved in logistics, supply chain solutions, even just-in-time manufacturing, retail, and e-commerce.
A well-implemented multi-airport strategy would also allow for some differentiation (and hence specialization) to occur between the airports. For instance, one could mainly service tourists while the other could handle cargo.
The Xiamen Air incident provides but another point to support the case for another airport. Such a huge endeavor does need to be studied thoroughly. But after the point has been hammered for so long, now is the time for action.
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