The Civil Aviation Authority, formerly the Air Transportation Office, in Negros Oriental is considering an increase in the passenger terminal fee at the Dumaguete-Sibulan Airport from P30 to P100 per person.

Local CAA chief, Veronica Chuang, said this is aimed at generating additional income to subsidize expansion and rehabilitation projects, such as additional vehicle parking space and aircraft parking bay, at the airport that would amount to millions of pesos.

In the past, the then ATO was funded by the national government through the Department of Budget and Management. Now, it has to generate its own income to fund its operations, Chuang said.

The Dumaguete-Sibulan airport has already seen a facelift with the renovation of the pre-departure and arrival areas, the installation of runway lights, the acquisition of a luggage carousel, and the landscaping of its surroundings.

Chuang said there is need to raise the passenger terminal fee as the electric bill of the airport increased by more than 100 percent from P60,000 last year to P158,000 in January, this year.

She attributed the power bill adjustment to the new air-conditioning units installed at the pre-departure and arrival areas.

The Dumaguete-Sibulan airport is seeing more traffic now with four flights a day to and from Manila, and a thrice-weekly flight to and from Cebu, she added.

A public consultation was held in September on the proposed increase in passenger terminal fees which was initially pegged at P200 per person, Chuang said.

Only a few representatives from different sectors attended the consultation, and they objected to the amount saying it was too high.

Chuang appealed to the public to attend another consultation early this year so that the new terminal fees can be implemented to make possible the expansion and rehabilitation of the Dumaguete-Sibulan airport.*JFP

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