Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) officer-in- charge general manager Bryan Co met with airline companies to address the problems of delayed and cancelled flights.
The meeting came as yesterday (June 16) marked the first day of the transfer of all Philippine Airlines (PAL) international flights from NAIA Terminal 2 to NAIA Terminal 1.
Co said about 40 international flights will begin operating in NAIA Terminal 1. Said flights are bound for US, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Australia and Korea, among others.
With this development, about 6,000 passengers will add to the current volume of travelers utilizing the NAIA Terminal 1 per day.
Co also conducted an ocular inspection in NAIA Terminals 1 and 2 to observe the terminal transfer of all remaining international PAL flights from T2 to T1.
Meanwhile, PAL spokesperson Ma. Cielo Villaluna said that PAL has recently encountered flight cancellations primarily due to the increase in the number of aircraft on preventive maintenance as a result of high utilization brought about by revenge travel or high travel demand.
“Our priority is to ensure the safety of our flights. That makes maintenance a top priority. In essence, the rise in aircraft maintenance is a direct result of increased aircraft utilization driven by high travel demand in recent months,” she said.
She said that consequently, some aircraft require preventive maintenance earlier than scheduled, and unforeseen maintenance issues arise, impacting our flight rotations. Safety and the well-being of our passengers are of utmost importance at PAL.
“We are fully committed to ensuring a safe and secure travel experience. Adjustments were made to our policies to provide our passengers better flexibility in the event of a disruption. This transferring passengers to other airlines so they can continue their travel. This is a temporary challenge that we are actively working to resolve,” Villaluna stated.
She added: “We have already implemented measures to reduce our published capacity for the upcoming months and are reviewing our plans for the remainder of the year. Our objective is to strike a balance between maintaining well-maintained aircraft and providing reliable schedules for our passengers.”
PAL, she said, is actively optimizing its operations to minimize disruptions and restore normalcy to flight schedules.
Plans include making changes to maintenance procedures to enhance efficiency and reduce aircraft servicing time.
“Additionally, we are reviewing our capacity to ensure that it accommodates necessary maintenance without compromising reliability,” Villaluna said.
