Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista commended the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines personnel yesterday on the success of the recently-concluded Oplan Biyaheng Ayos: Pasko 2023 in the annual New Year's call of CAAP.

The Transport chief reported an increase in the number of flights in 2023, reaching 280,000 compared to the pre-pandemic period with 250,000 flights, signifying more passengers are now relying on air transport.

Moreover, Bautista recognized the effort of CAAP to increase the movement per hour of airplanes, as this will provide significant support for one of the most important projects of the government this year — the privatization of the operations and maintenance of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The objective is to increase aircraft movement per hour from the current 40 to 44–48 in order to meet the volume of passengers and flights at NAIA if it is expanded, with the passenger capacity doubling from the present 32 million per year.