MANILA, October 3 ------ The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has raised parking fees, the airport's new operator confirmed. In a statement, the New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation (NNIC) said parking rates for cars now cost P50 per hour, up from the previous P40. The biggest hike is in the overnight parking for cars, which now goes up to P1,200 from the previous P300.
The other adjusted parking rates are as follows:
The NNIC said they increased parking fees to prioritize passengers in the main gateway's limited parking spaces. NNIC said the lower parking rates "unintentionally encouraged misuse of the airport’s limited parking spaces." "Many individuals, including those from nearby establishments and with no airport-related business, were taking advantage of the low rates for overnight or long-term parking. This created parking shortage for actual passengers, adding to congestion and frustration," the NNIC said. "The new rates are specifically designed to discourage non-travelers from using the airport for long-term parking and ensure that passengers have access to the parking they need, when they need it," the operator added.
The NNIC also said that by discouraging long-term and overnight parking, the new rates will reduce the number of vehicles circling the airport to search for spaces, thereby easing traffic flow. It stressed that the adjustments are not intended to generate profit. "While the previous rates may have been convenient for some, they created significant disadvantages for travelers," it noted.
AIRPORT REGULATOR REACTS
Meanwhile, the Manila International Airport Authority, the regulator of NAIA, said the first two hours of parking is a regulated fee, but the succeeding hours and the overnight parking now depend on NNIC. MIAA Spokesperson Chris Bendijo said he believes NNIC had to increase fees to solve many issues like the so-called ‘colorum’ vehicles or unregistered vehicles that park at NAIA, as well as overcrowding of vehicles at the parking area. “Because of our rates which are extremely low, there are some entities that take advantage of it - yung mga colorum. Dahil sobrang baba, they make the parking as their garage… Yung kultura na one passenger pero limang kotse magsusundo. I think that can be addressed with this one also,” Bendijo said.
But because of mostly negative reactions online, Bendijo said the regulator would talk to NNIC to discuss the matter and possibly, adjust the rates again. “We can perhaps raise it as a point for discussion with NNIC. For them to maybe consider, evaluate, and possibly siguro make adjustments moving forward. Kasi kung sobrang taas din naman and it will affect so many stakeholders also, ayaw din natin mangyari yun. Baka wala na gumamit ng parking facility,” he said.
Aside from parking, he revealed that other fees have also risen like the take off and landing fees and rental fees as part of the MIAA Administrative Order. The terminal fee, meanwhile, will also go up in September next year. The NNIC said all these fees were approved by government long before they operated NAIA. The NNIC has also earlier said it will not raise rates if there are no improvements yet. It started to handle NAIA three weeks ago and has vowed to improve the operations and services at NAIA.
The San Miguel-led consortium said it will build new facilities to increase the number of parking spaces available at NAIA. It earlier said that it also plans to charge vehicles that "linger" at the airport to help decongest the roads in the area. Meanwhile, Gabriela Party-list Representative Arlene Brosas hit the parking fee increases, which she called "shocking." Brosas said the new airport operators are already cashing in at the public’s expense, long before the public can see any real improvements in airport services. "This sharp rise hits especially hard for airport workers, who could face parking fees of up to P225 per day for an 8-hour shift, and passengers on multi-day trips, who could shell out as much as P4,800 for parking alone on a 4D/3N trip abroad," Gabriel said in a statement.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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