Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has urged government and private partners to come up with a Unified National Airport Masterplan to increase the country’s chances of keeping up with peers on visitor arrivals.
At the 2025 Philippine Aviation Summit, PAL chief operating officer Carlos Luis Fernandez said public and private stakeholders have to immediately craft a masterplan for airport development.
The masterplan has to outline the role of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the future, as gateways in Clark and Bulacan are competing for air traffic in Mega Manila.
Fernandez said the government also has to invest in upgrading secondary airports so they would be able to handle domestic and overseas flights. Without such an investment, he warned that the Philippines would stay behind Southeast Asian neighbors on visitor arrivals.
Last year, the country handled 60 million passengers through primary and secondary hubs. This is far from the air passenger traffic of regional peers, including Indonesia’s 156 million, Thailand’s 119 million, Vietnam’s 109 million, Malaysia’s 94 million and Singapore’s 68 million.
Singapore recorded more traffic through its single international airport in Changi Airport, when the Philippines operates nine gateways capable of handling foreign flights.
‘We need a masterplan standardizing secondary airports through night-rating, runway extensions and upgraded air navigational aides so they can serve as reliable mini-hubs,’ Fernandez said.
He also underscored that peers are building up their network of international airports, as Indonesia now manages 14; Vietnam, 12; and Thailand, nine.
The country is also struggling to boost cargo volume in spite of its favorable location in the heart of Asia and the Pacific. The Hong Kong International Airport is able to airlift five million tons of cargo, but all Philippine gateways can only combine 700,000 tons.
‘Every hour of delay threatens the freshness of tuna, bamboo and vegetable products and it adds cost to electronics and garment exports. By expanding cargo facilities in main hubs and enabling secondary airports to handle cargo efficiently, we can give micro, small and medium enterprises a fighting chance to reach their markets worldwide,’ Fernandez said.
By consolidating airport plans, Fernandez said the country can capture a larger share in Southeast Asia’s international arrivals, estimated to reach at least 187 million by 2030.
PAL, for its part, has committed to launch new flights and more frequency in its hubs across the Philippines in support of efforts to improve the country’s air travel.