The new ATR 72-600 of Cebu Pacific, a turboprop aircraft. Handout

MANILA (UPDATE) — Around 30 percent of flights of turboprop planes will be moved to Clark International Airport or other secondary airports by March, an official of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said Tuesday.

A turboprop airplane is a smaller vessel which can carry about 60 passengers. Turboprop planes can reach regional destinations in the Philippines like Camiguin, Calbayog, Siargao, Masbate, Surigao, Busuanga and Naga--which can only accommodate smaller aircraft. 

Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines will be affected as they own CebGo and PAL Express respectively, which utilize mostly turboprop planes for island destinations.

MIAA head executive assistant Atty. Manuel Jeffrey David said smaller airlines with an all-turboprop fleet will have one year from March to implement the transfer. This covers Sunlight Air, Island Aviation, Air Swift, among others.

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He added that airlines should inform passengers who already bought tickets of the said transfer. Airlines can also change their aircraft from turboprop to a bigger aircraft on the same slot.

David said moving turboprop aircraft to Clark would allow the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to accommodate more passengers.

"Considering the limited capacity of the airport, parang, currently we’re running around 42 flights per hour po. So you call it flight slots. Alam naman po natin, na pag turboprop po, mas maliit po yung passenger capacity ng eroplano," David said.

"So by moving 30 percent pct of the capacity we also expect naman naman po na yung airlines natin would replace that with bigger airplanes, so mga A320s po that can accommodate more passengers."

"So, by that, mas efficient po yung pagpapatakbo ng airport natin, mas marami po tayong maa-accommodate na pasahero," he explained.

David explained that the decision to move turboprop flights out of the country's main gateway was made by the Manila Slot Coordination Committee, which includes the Undersecretary for Aviation from the Department of Transportation, the general manager of MIAA, and the director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

It also includes the executive director of the Civil Aeronautics Board and the general manager of NAIA operator New NAIA Infra Corp.

David said this is one way of rationalizing the capacity of the NAIA.

"We do not totally discount na may mga naapektuhan po. What we beg po is for indulgence din naman po. This is one way po talaga to introduce more capacity into the airport," he said.

"I underdstand po na meron po tayong maapektuhan na mga kababayan, pero in absolute termds po talaga, if we look long term, this is really one way po talag da atin na ma-efficiently and ma-rationalize natin yung paggamit ng airport," he added.

Noel Manankil, President and CEO of Clark International Airport’s (CRK) operator Luzon International Premier Airport Development Corp, welcomes the plan to move turboprop planes to Clark. He said Clark has the capacity to accommodate additional flights and the airport.

“CRK has the capacity to connect international travelers to our famed “island destinations” with our transfer facility which is housed in the same terminal,” Manankil said.