MCIAA Board turns down proposed P50 hike in airport terminal fees

The Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) convenes on August 29, 2019 to discuss, among others, the updating of the fees being collected at the airport and the concessionaire’s share from the passenger service charge (PCS) or terminal fee. |CDND Photo/ Enrique Bejar

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) Board has turnedMdown the proposal to increase the passenger service charge (PSC) or terminal fee collected from domestic and international travellers.

The Business Development Specialist of MCIAA has proposed to increase the existing PSCs of P300 for domestic passengers and P850 for international travellers to P350 and P900, respectively.

At the current rate, MCIA is charging the highest PSC for both international and domestic passengers among seven major airports in the country, the MCIAA noted.

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila only charges P200 from domestic and P550 for international passengers.

The discussion over the increase of the PSC  was raised during the MCIAA Board meeting on Thursday, August 29, when they tackled the 10 percent  increase in the share of the airport’s operator, GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), on the collection of the PSC at both the domestic and international terminals of MCIA.

GMCAC, under its concessionaire contract with MCIAA, is entitled to file for an increase in its PSC share every milestone year, or during the first, sixth, 11th, 16th and 21st anniversary that it has been managing and operating the airport. In November this year, GMCAC’s concession contract over MCIA will turn six years.

Based on the current PSC rates and the projected increase in GMCAC’s share, MCIAA’s share of the PSC will be down to 4.2 percent from the current 11.6 percent.

This would bring down MCIAA’s  annual revenue from domestic PSC to around P59 million from the projected 2019 share of P154 million.

MCIAA Business Development Specialist Gabby Acosta proposed to increase the domestic PSC to P350 and the international PSC to P900 in order to offset the loss in share that the MCIAA will get out of the PSC.

But private sector representative Lawyer Anabelle Pulvera-Page and Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, who both sit as member-directors of the MCIAA Board, objected to the proposal.

Pulvera-Page said the MCIAA should develop other assets to increase its revenue rather than passing on the burden to the passengers.

MCIAA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lawyer Steve Dicdican also said that as a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC), they should not focus on revenues but on the delivery of public services in transportation.

Because of the objection from Garcia, Pulvera-Page and Dicdican, the board decided to set aside the proposal.

Garcia, in a separate interview, said the proposal to increase the PSC would need a more in-depth study since it would affect the flying public.

“Bisan pa og moingon nga di na mabati sa sa pasahero kay ipatong na sa ticket, bayaran man gihapon na nila (Even if some would say that the passengers won’t feel this increase because the IPSC is incorporated in the cost of tickets, they are still paying for that.) If we want to offset that [loss], we should find another means,” the governor said.

In an advisory, GMCAC said that starting beginning September 1, 2019, the International PSC will already be incorporated into the cost of airline tickets.

“Within a year from September 1, 2019,  passengers who have been issued or reissued tickets without the integrated IPSC shall pay the IPSC at the terminal fee counters inside Terminal 2,” the GCMAC statement said.

The terminal fee for domestic travel out of MCIA is already incorporated in the cost of tickets. /elb