KALIBO, Aklan – The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has implemented new higher terminal fees for departing passengers at Kalibo International Airport starting last October 15.

Acting Airport Area Manager Efren Nagrama said the increase in such fees is pursuant to Section 1 Part V of the Department Order No. 98-1178 (Revised Schedule of Fees and Charges for Alternate International Airport and National Airports) and Department Order 2008-06 (New Classification of Airports in the Philippines) classifying Kalibo airport as an international airport.

The new passenger service charge for departing passengers, except for transit passengers and children two years old and below has been increased from P20 to P40 while passengers departing internationally are charged P500.

The fees are intended for projects including airport runway extension, terminal expansion terminals and improvements in passenger benefits. These projects are designed to ensure compliance of Kalibo airport with international safety and security requirements.

The airport, which is the busiest airport in the region, serves domestic flights of Philippine Airlines, PAL Express, Zest Air and Cebu Pacific flying the Manila and Cebu routes.

It also caters to regional flights of Mandarin Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Philippine Airlines and TransAsia Airways to and from Incheon, Taiwan, Shanghai and Hangzhou in China.

The national government is constructing a brand-new terminal building to handle more than 400,000 passengers yearly. Once operational in December, the terminal will be equipped with customs, immigration and quarantine counters.

Meanwhile, a public hearing and consultation for the revision of Section Part V of the Department Order No. 98-1178, Series of 1998 which would even further increase passenger service charge for domestic flights from the current P40 to P200 and for international flights from P500 to P750.00 had recently been commenced.