DoTr orders ‘rental holiday’ to soften Covid hit

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) has ordered local aviation authorities to suspend imposing leasing fees at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) this month to cushion the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19)

pandemic on the country.

In a statement on Wednesday, the department said Secretary Arthur Tugade told the Manila International Airport Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to implement a “rental holiday” while Luzon is under enhanced community quarantine.

In a Viber message, Transportation Assistant Secretary for Communications Goddes Libiran said the holiday would cover March 15-to-April 15 fees.

As the government mulls over extending the quarantine, payment deferrals would also be offered to concessionaires in the coming months.

These would take effect immediately.

“We need to be prepared for any possible scenario and to employ all possible countermeasures, including what may appear to be drastic and extreme ones,” Tugade was quoted as saying in the statement.

The statement comes after Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced on Tuesday it would suspend operations because of the pandemic. The announcement came days after Cebu Pacific and Philippines AirAsia also suspended their flights.

According to Japhet Louis Tantiangco, research analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., the airlines’ recovery would depend on how fast the economy would bounce back from the pandemic.

He expects the aviation sector’s recovery to be “gradual.”

“Right now, we’re already seeing the [economic harm caused] by the pandemic: the retrenchment of employees, work suspensions; the community quarantine in the different areas of the country that is disrupting business activities,” Tantiangco told The Manila Times.

“On a macro [level], this would result in less disposable income for our households. Now less disposable income [means] less budget for traveling, especially leisure,” he said.

“Finding a cure against the coronavirus may not necessarily mean a quick recovery for our airlines,” the analyst added.

“We may need to see the economy get back to its pre-virus shape first, [then] regain the employment and the income shed away by Covid-19.” if it’s for