CLARK FREE PORT, Pampanga—Departing passenger volume at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here increased in the first quarter of this year, which Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) president Victor Jose Luciano attributed to the cheap fares offered by budget airlines.

“The DMIA is going strong and continues to attract more passengers despite the economic situation in the world. And CIAC is committed to providing world-class service to the traveling public for them to enjoy their flights at our airport,” said Luciano.

CIAC corporate planning department data show there were 659 departing flights from January to March compared with 486 flights for the same period last year, or an increase of 35.5 percent.

“This only shows DMIA is fast becoming the premier airport of the country as envisioned by President Arroyo,” said Luciano, recalling the President’s statement last year that she intends to make the DMIA the premier gateway to the country.

Luciano said the airport corporation is now holding a promotional road show, dubbed the “DMIA 2009 Product Update: North Luzon Tour,” that kicked off on March 20 to promote the DMIA as the “Airport of the North Philippines.”

The marketing and promotional event covered Pampanga, Zambales, Tarlac, and Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte so far. It will be in La Union and Baguio City in the next few weeks and then to eastern Luzon provinces of Cagayan and Isabela and later to Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan to complete its circling of the north.

“This road show is part of CIAC’s thrusts of introducing and promoting to the people of the North and Central Luzon the availability of international and domestic flights at the DMIA where they can have access to cheaper air fares provided by various low-cost carriers operating at the airport,” said Luciano.

DMIA is host to Asiana Airlines of South Korea that flies the Clark-Incheon route daily with connecting flights to the US and Europe, Tiger Airways of Singapore flying the Clark-Singapore route, and Air Asia of Malaysia that flies twice daily to Clark-Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.

Local carrier Cebu Pacific, the first major local carrier to locate at the DMIA, flies to Southeast Asian destinations like Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and Bangkok. Cebu Pacific also operates daily flights from Clark to Cebu.

Southeast Asian Airlines flies, meanwhile, the Clark-Caticlan route for tourists en route to the world-famous Boracay Island.

Source: Business Mirror