MANILA: Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez has ordered a reduction in passenger service charges and airport navigation charges to reduce the operating costs of airlines amid rising fuel prices.
Lopez said he ordered the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), and it will be applicable to all CAAP-operated airports in the country.
“This is to lessen the burden of airline passengers following rising jet fuel costs worldwide due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” he said.
According to the Department of Transportation’s latest data, jet fuel costs have risen from US$90.87 per barrel on Feb. 19 to US$188.2 per barrel on March 9.
Aside from reducing airport and passenger fees, Lopez ordered the Civil Aviation Board to shorten its evaluation and implementation period to 15 days for a quick reduction in airfares once the price of jet fuel stabilises.
“The government continues to monitor the situation and is working with the aviation industry to ensure safe, reliable and affordable air travel for the public,” Lopez said.
The move was part of the government’s effort to ease the burden of increasing global fuel prices.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development also announced over the weekend that cash assistance, worth P5,000 (US$84), will be given to public utility vehicle drivers, starting with tricycle drivers in Metro Manila, on March 17, said Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
The move comes after a meeting between Gatchalian, the Office of the Executive Secretary, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez and the mayors of Metro Manila’s 16 cities and one municipality on Wednesday.
In a Malacañang press briefing, Gatchalian said the subsidies would come from his department’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations programme. — PNA via Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
