Groups seek to block NAIA fee hikes

Labor groups, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and aviation workers have asked the Supreme Court to stop the Manila International Airport Authority’s (MIAA) planned fee hikes, saying these would add more burden on travelers and businesses.

In a statement on Monday, the coalition Pagkakaisa ng mga Users, Stakeholders at Obrero ng NAIA (PUSO ng NAIA), said that it has filed a petition last week to nullify MIAA Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2024, which revises airport fees and charges.

“Behind every peso of increased charges is a family saving for a ticket home, a worker traveling for livelihood, a student flying for opportunity. These are not abstract numbers; they are people’s lives,” Romy Sauler, head Secretariat of PUSO ng NAIA and former Vice President of the PAL Employees Union, said. 

Sauler pointed out that NAIA currently earns only P14 to 16 billion in revenues each year from passenger charges, aeronautical fees, rentals, and concession privileges. 

To reach the government’s P900-billion revenue projection under the San Miguel–led concession, he warned that authorities are banking on continuous fee hikes that will raise costs for workers, OFWs, and other air travelers.

The planned hike in NAIA passenger service charges (PSC), commonly known as the “terminal fee,” is set to take effect in September after a year-long deferment. 

The fees, unchanged since 2000, will rise from P550 to P950 for international departures and from P200 to P390 for domestic departures.