LAPU-LAPU CITY — An executive of the state-run Clark International Airport Corp. on Thursday said the Clark aviation firm has begun exercising oversight functions of the Clark International Airport (CRK) by conducting benchmark studies from the success of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) operations.
Joshua Bingcang, president of CIAC, said his management team held a benchmarking dialogue and information exchange with officials of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) in Lapu-Lapu City last May 24, noting that both agencies are attached under the Department of Transportation and independently assigned to exercise oversight functions over privately-run airport operations.
“We have similar roles in helping our respective private airport operators succeed, so we have chosen Cebu airport and MCIAA management as benchmark, to determine performance standards and to identify best practices in airport operations, tasks which the MCIAA so far are performing effectively, and which we intend to replicate,” Bingcang said.
The GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. runs the Mactan-Cebu airport, named Asia’s Best Airport among 200 airports in the Asia Pacific under the ‘5 million passenger category’ in the 2023 Routes Asia Awards, while the private consortium Luzon International Premier Airport Development Corp. (LIPAD) operates the Clark airport.
“Our functions must align with the evolving needs and expectations of passengers and stakeholders of the Clark airport so we have created an oversight team to further study and compare Clark airport operation’s metrics using the MCIAA’s monitoring practices in evaluating the performance of its private airport operator. In turn, we’ll collectively analyze what the effective measures are, and which processes may improve efficiency to boost revenues for the Clark airport’s private operator LIPAD,” he added.
The CIAC’s oversight roles include the assurance that the airport facility is operated and maintained safely and securely in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization standards, and must conform to regulations set by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, and other safety and security rules, Bingcang noted.
As of May 15, the Clark airport services 17 international flights over 11 destinations, and nine domestic routes with 14 flights.
Bingcang added that while Clark has been registering a growth in the number of passengers, flights and destinations, the CIAC has kickstarted the process of leasing out some 300 hectares of prime government lands surrounding the airport for aviation- and non-aviation-related businesses.
