KALIBO, Aklan – Registered concessionaires at Kalibo International Airport (KIA) has asked the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Kalibo to intervene amid the alarming drop of regional and domestic flights and the wider economic impacts of air transportation.
The petitioners, representing individuals and groups engaged in various business activities within the KIA premises, also appealed to Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for a public hearing regarding the significant reduction of weekly seats capacity and limited number of flights on Manila-Kalibo route.
“Indeed the decline in regional and domestic flights to and from KIA raises an alarm, putting on the line the town of Kalibo economic recovery and uncertainty,” read part of the petition.
Currently, commercial airlines have been reducing the one way weekly seats from Manila to Kalibo after the pandemic. The ensuing dramatic drop of domestic flights in KIA is threatening the local economy, with many jobs at stake.
While passenger demand at Kalibo airport naturally waned, the rebound in domestic travel and air passenger volume in Godofredo P. Ramos airport in Caticlan, Malay town is evident by the huge number of commercial flights daily.
In particular, Kalibo airport caters to four to five domestic flights per day in contrast to Caticlan airport which handles around 40 flights from Manila, Cebu and Clark./PN
