Swimming at the Airport? First Resort Airport in the World Kicks off in Cebu Philippines

Mactan-Cebu touted to be first of several world-class airports

PH breaks ground for world’s first resort airport

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) marks another milestone as it breaks ground for the world’s first resort airport – and the Aquino Administration’s first airport public-private partnership (PPP) project – on June 29.

“The kick-off ceremony for the construction of the new international terminal for the country’s second-biggest gateway, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), is touted to be the start of Philippine airports matching the best in the world,” said DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya.

“It will not only cement our place on the global map as a major tourist and business destination, it will boost the local economy and is projected to generate jobs especially in Cebu,” he added.

The project, which is envisioned by concessionaire GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) to be regarded as the first resort airport in the world, covers the construction of a new world-class international passenger terminal building (PTB), as well as the renovation of the existing PTB and its conversion into an exclusively-domestic facility.

Construction of the new terminal will be completed in three (3) years, or by 2018, while the renovation of the existing terminal is slated to be completed in 2019. The airport’s passenger capacity will surge from 4.5 million to 12.5 million per year.

GMCAC won the auction for the 25-year PPP contract last year, after offering the government a premium bid of P 14.4 billion. Operations and maintenance (O&M) of the airport was turned over to the consortium in November 2015.

‘Soft Improvements’ implemented since last year

Immediately upon assuming O&M responsibility, GMCAC began implementing ‘soft improvements’ to the existing terminal, or those improvements which did not require major civil works, to enhance passenger experience at the gateway.

For instance, a centralized security check (CSC) system was opened earlier this month to speed up the processing time for departing guests. It features four (4) X-ray machines that can be used interchangeably, which then doubles the capacity of the final check-in counters.

To further reduce passenger queues, GMCAC also opened additional immigration counters and self-service kiosks wherein passengers can pre-check-in.

Other ‘soft improvements’ included the installation of LED bulbs for brighter lighting; the optimized use of floor space, which included transferring certain offices in exchange for more check-in counters and waiting areas; redesigning seating patterns to increase usage by passengers; and now, offering self-service check-in kiosks for faster processing.

“It is clear to us that GMCAC brings international expertise into running an airport, immediately it has already made substantial improvements without making structural works yet. What it will do now that we are breaking ground is exciting for us, and especially for travelers to and from Cebu,” Abaya remarked. - dotc.gov.ph

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2 of 12 FA-50 Fighter jets delivered - now flying with Philippine Air Force

Philippines Receives Two F-50s From Korea

Two of the 12 FA-50 fighters of the ₱18.9 billion Php contract signed by President Benigno C. Aquino III in South Korea on March 28, 2014 has been received by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) ahead of schedule in December 2015. "FA-50PH's maiden flight took place on 19 June after the Philippines has signed a contract

Two of the 12 FA-50 fighters of the ₱18.9 Php billion contract signed by President Benigno C. Aquino III in South Korea on March 28, 2014 has been received by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) ahead of schedule in December 2015.

"FA-50PH's maiden flight took place on 19 June after the Philippines has signed a contract for 12 KAI FA-50 fighter aircraft in March last year," South Korea's Korean Aerospace Industry said

The FA-50 is an armed variant of the T-50 advanced jet trainer, which KAI jointly developed with Lockheed Martin. Other variants include the TA-50, a lightly armed variant of the original aircraft, and the T-50B, which is optimized as a performance aircraft. The T-50B is operational with South Korea's display team, the Black Eagles

High timer PAF pilots were selected to train using the FA-50 fighters in South Korea. These pilots will then become the instructor pilots to train the other pilots in army. The new FA-50s have a more advanced weaponry system than what the country has in present, which are 'ancient' planes like Nomad which can do only 8-9 hour round trips, as Pres. Aquino told reporters in Busan, South Korea. It could load up to 4.5 tons of weapons and has a wide-range of mobilization system. FA-50 has also, 20 mm three-barrel gun that can fire at extremely high rate internally installed. FA-50 can be fitted with AIM-9 Sidewinder, a short-range air-to-air missile; AGM-65, an air-to-surface missile designed for close-air support missions; cluster bombs and rocket launchers. KAI assured that by 2017 the procurement will be complete. - Manila Channel and Flight Global

 

 

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