Press Release
November 1, 2018

GRACE POE ON NAIA TERMINAL FEE HIKE

"Terminal Fee" is the popular term for "Passenger Service Charge." I take it that the most important words are "passenger" and "service."

The dust hasn't settled yet from the Xiamen incident that paralyzed NAIA for at least 36 hours. Sabi nga ng mga stranded na pasaherong tumestigo sa ating pagdinig, ni hindi raw gumana ang sound system ng NAIA nang maayos, wala man lamang makapagsabi sa kanila kung ano ang boarding time at saan ang boarding gate nila noong mga panahon na iyon.

Before focusing on the "charge" part, maybe it is best for MIAA and NAIA to first focus on "passenger service."

What are they doing right now with the existing "passenger service charge" or terminal fee? What are they going to do if ever it increases? We can't simply take it hook, line and sinker and give it to them. Paano naman ang karapat-dapat na serbisyo sa pasahero?

There should also be real public consultations because of the sheer number of people-42 million-who will be affected. This is the number of passengers who flew through NAIA last year. Another reason why the holding of public hearings is a must is the recent imposition of fuel charges on Filipino air travellers. There are multiple taxes and fees embedded in a ticket, including travel tax.

We must also not forget that there are still millions in unrefunded terminal fees that have yet to be returned to the passengers. What happened to these?

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