Landing fee cuts mulled as fuel spike raises airfares

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) is weighing cuts to landing and take-off fees to ease soaring travel costs ahead of Holy Week, as airlines and passengers reel from higher fuel prices triggered by the ongoing Middle East crisis.

At a media briefing on Wednesday, Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said he has asked the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to explore measures to help stabilize any expected airfare increase.

“We have meetings with the airlines, we know they will be affected by this, and we are thankful that they are still holding on,” Lopez said.

“Even so, there are mitigating measures; one of the things we are looking at is whether we can lower some fees like landing and takeoff fees, the ones we are considering adjusting and that will ripple down to airfare, at least we can stabilize it somehow,” he added.

Lopez said the exact amount of any potential fee reduction is still being studied, and the proposal will be submitted for board approval next week. 

Subsidies readied

Meanwhile, to help ease the financial impact of soaring fuel prices, the DoTr said it is coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, and the Department of Interior and Local Government to roll out complementary measures for public utility vehicle drivers, including subsidies and toll discounts.