2011 Holy Week air travel spikes – report

More Filipinos traveled during this year’s Holy Week compared to the last year’s, according to a report by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) which covered the travel period from April 18-24, 2011. It said that 65,333 passengers traveled domestically, a significant increase from the 49,201 during the last year’s Holy Week. The figures were based on the numbers from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2, NAIA Terminal 3 and the Manila Domestic Airport (MDA) Airport general manager Jose Angel Honrado attributed the increase in passenger traffic to government efforts to promote domestic tourism. “This is a positive indication that endeavors intended to increase terminal capacity is on the right track," Honrado said. Early this year, an international air transport group predicted an increase in domestic air travel in the country. The MDA reported the highest passenger traffic increase to 56,345, up at 63.76 percent from 34,407. The airport is home to small turbo-prop airplanes which fly to Batanes, Caticlan, Coron, Busuanga, Marinduque and Siargao, among others. Passenger traffic growth at NAIA Terminal 3, where Cebu Pacific Airlines is located, rose 30 percent while NAIA Terminal 2, home to Philippine Airlines, rose 5 percent. International passenger traffic likewise increased by 5.16 percent from last year’s figures. Terminal 3 saw a 19-percent increase while Terminal 1 reported a 5.72 percent increase. “Another contributing factor to this increase in the aggressive marketing strategies of airline companies to sell their services which are simply hard to resist," Honrado added. — BC/VS, GMA News