CHARM OFFENSIVE - Orient Aviation

s p e c i a l r e p o r tJapan’s aviation authorities are considering radical changes to flight routes andconstruction of a fourth runway at Tokyo’sHaneda Airport as part of a new strategyto increase traffic flow and ease congestionon the country’s major airways.If a study of the runway addition supportsthe move it could lead to the scrapping of earlierplans to build a third airport in the Tokyometropolitan area. It may also strengthenmoves aimed at allowing more internationalflights to use Haneda, which currently handlesonly a handful of offshore services.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure andTransport has included US$41million in itsfiscal 2002 budget for the Haneda runwaystudy.Under consideration will be a 2,500 metrerunway on reclaimed land, running parallel tothe current Runway B and located southeastof the other runways.An existing study group looking into thethird airport option has been told the HanedaTokyo may scrapits third airport planexpansion plan will now take precedence.Ministry officials believe it will be cheaper toadd a runway to Haneda, which already hasrail and road connections.The runway could take more than 10 yearsto build, but it would lift the airport’s trafficcapacity to 400,000 take-offs and landings ayear from the current 275,000.Meanwhile, ministry officials have foreshadowedwork on new routes into Hanedaas well as the introduction of simultaneouslanding operations at Tokyo’s major internationalfacility at Narita, with the aim of improvingtraffic flow and lifting capacity.The changes will come into affect in Maynext year when an interim 2,180 metre secondrunway will open at Narita in time for the 2002soccer World Cup, being co-hosted by Japanand South Korea.Simultaneous landings using parallelrunways to help reduce peak hour delayswere introduced for the first time in Japanat Haneda airport in March, but at presentit remains the only airport in the country toallow such landings.Narita handles 370 flights a day. This willrise by 48% to 546 when the second runwayis opened. The airport has only one 4,000metre runway.The ministry also has begun a reviewof flight routes around Kansai and Osakaairports.‘Exhorbitant’ rates anger airlines as...PAL says ‘no’ to new terminalPhilippine Government aviation officials may be celebrating thestart of work on Manila airport’s third terminal, but the projectis already the focus of heated debate with national flag PhilippineAirlines (PAL) announcing it will boycott the facility because of proposedhigh charges.The US$500 million Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3(NAIA 3) is on a site at the former Villamor military air base, which abutsManila’s commercial facility. Due for completion by December 2002, itwill handle 13 million passengers a year, replacing the 20-year-old NAIATerminal 1, which passed its planned capacity of 4.3 million passengersmore than two years ago.The problem for airlines, already hit by rising airport fees internationally,is a planned 10-fold increase in airport service fees, includingcharges for check-in counter rental, office space lease as well as servicefees for passenger service agents and airport ground handlers.PAL, still recovering from debilitating affects of the Asian financialcrisis and a pilot strike that almost drove it to the wall two years ago,issued a statement saying it will not transfer operations to NAIA 3,claiming the move will be financially disastrous to the airline.The Philippine flag carrier is not alone in its condemnation ofproposed fees by the Philippine Air Terminal Co. Inc. (Piatco), thecompany that won the bid to build the facility under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme. It expects the terminal to be fully operationalearly in 2003.Several members of the Airline Operator’s Council (AOC) haveexpressed their apprehension over Piatco control of the new terminal.Philippine Airlines: says it will boycott new terminal because of proposedhigh feesOne AOC member from a foreign airline described the company’srates and charges as “exorbitant”, warning they will hurt the operationsof the entire airline industry. “Should they maintain the high fees, wewill be forced to pass the burden on to the passengers,” he said.A number of foreign airline country managers boycotted Piatco’sofficial July topping-off ceremonies to show their disapproval. The issueis expected to be the subject of an intense ongoing dispute betweenthe contractor and airlines.46 | Orient Aviation | September 2001