Summit flights to happen mostly in Clark, not at NAIA

                        The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit next month will most likely cause minimal disruptions for arriving and departing domestic and international flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

                   

                    Ambassador Marciano A. Paynor Jr., Director General of Operations of the  ASEAN – National Organizing Council (NOC).said that flight activities will be concentrated at Clark International Airport (CIA) in Pampanga instead of NAIA to avoid unnecessary flight disruptions at the NAIA during the international event.

                     Paynor said the decision to maximize the use of CIA for the upcoming summit was made in order to prevent cancellation of several flights at the NAIA like what happened during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2015 where some 450 NAIA flights were affected.

                    He said a 10-minute arrival or departure of a single ASEAN aircraft will cause at least 3 cancelled flights in NAIA.

                  “We don’t want to cause great hassle to our thousands of air travellers considering the enormity of this event. At the same time, we have to maintain the security and safety of our ASEAN delegates, being the host country,” Paynor explained.

                  Catalino S. Cuy, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Chairman of the Committee on Security, Peace and Order, Emergency Preparedness and Response (CSPOEPR), asked the public to take other routes and refrain from passing through the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and EDSA.

                    He issued the call as a stop-and-go scheme will be implemented every time a convoy of ASEAN delegate passes through these major highways.

                    Cuy expressed his appreciation to all LGUs which have initiated and started to address the various logistical needs for the ASEAN Summit.

                     He requested the local chief executives in Metro Manila and Region III to extend assistance to the ASEAN delegates, clear undesirable elements on the streets that will cause more traffic and display information, education and communication (IEC) materials that express support for ASEAN.

                 “We will do better when we work together, let us all keep that in mind so we can achieve a peaceful, safe, and orderly ASEAN Summit,” Cuy said.

                 The security and safety preparations for the ASEAN summit are spearheaded by the CSPOEPR which is composed of 21-member agencies headed by the DILG