20 parking slots reserved at Clark for APEC needs

• Source: http://punto.com.ph/News/Article/23900/Volume-9-No-45/Headlines/20-parking-slots-reserved-at-Clark-for-APEC-needs
• Tuesday, November 10, 2015

By Ding Cervantes

CLARK FREEPORT - No less than 20 parking spaces for airplanes have been reserved at the Clark International Airport here for possible needs of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be attended by world leaders from Nov. 17 to 20 in Manila.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has made arrangements with the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) for this, apart for accommodation of flights that would otherwise be disrupted because of the no-fly zone policy except for aircraft to be used in relation to APEC to be enforced at the Ninoy Aquino Internationa Airport (NAIA) during the summit.

CIAC spokesperson Rendy Isip said that despite suspension of commercial flights at NAIA, flights at the Clark airport would remain normal. “There will be no changes, no suspension of regular international and domestic flights at Clark,” he said.

Isip said eight airlines operating here will go on with their 124 flights per week at the Clark airport.

He said the airport here has enough aircraft parking spaces to take in even airplanes flying in APEC delegates.

“While we don’t have information on whether any of the aircraft to be used by the heads of states attending APEC will be parking at Clark, we have enough space for parking,” he added.

Philippine Airlines earlier announced that 115 domestic and 96 international flights will not be operating on Nov. 15 to 20, while Cebu Pacific Air announced the cancellation of at least 260 flights over the same period, 26 of them to and from international destinations.

This, after the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) issued an advisory about “periodic temporary runway closures” at the NAIA during the arrival and departure of heads of state.

The government stressed, however, that the cancellation of flights at the NAIA was “the call of airlines.”

Some 7,000 official delegates, including heads of state, from 21 countries will arrive in the country for the annual gathering, excluding journalists and tourists who are also expected to come.

Malacañang earlier announced that there will be no classes and work for government employees from November 17 to 20.

Work in the private sector will also be suspended from November 18 to 19, the dates of the actual conference.