Int’l airline tickets to include terminal fees by October

MANILA, Philippines—The prices of international airline tickets to be purchased starting October this year will include the terminal fees that most passengers queue up for before boarding their flights, airport authorities said Tuesday.

The Manila International Airport Authority and international air carriers signed on Tuesday an agreement under which the International Passenger Service Charge, IPSC or terminal fee, is to be integrated into the cost of airline tickets, with the airline companies undertaking to collect the fees.

The airline companies are then to remit the fees to the airport authority, less 3.5 percent, which they will keep as their service fee.

The long-standing plan to integrate the international terminal fee into the air fare finally pushed through on Tuesday despite earlier objections from some air carriers. Representatives of at least 21 air carriers attended the ceremony at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 Tuesday morning. Thirteen other companies did not send any representative but had earlier expressed support for the move.

The MIAA has given the airlines three months starting July 1 to reconfigure their systems and adjust to the integration. A transition period from October 2014 to the next year was set for passengers who have bought tickets in advance.

By October next year, all terminal fee counters will be gone, MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado said.

“Queuing will be a thing of the past,” Honrado said, emphasizing that the new system will reduce airport processing time.

The agreement provides for the payment to the airlines of a service fee consisting of 3.5 percent of the P550 terminal fee.

Based on his rough estimate, Honrado said the MIAA will pay all the 34 airlines P150 million a year in total as a service charge for the terminal fee collections.

The government will save roughly P55 million from the operational expenses it incurs on the average for the collections of the terminal fee annually but it will have to forgo around P100 million “for the passengers’ convenience,” Honrado said.

Tuesday agreement covers international flights only as the P200 domestic terminal fee has been integrated in the cost of domestic air fares since August 2012.

Ramon Ang, president and chief operating officer of  Philippine Airlines, spoke highly of the integration plan, saying passengers would benefit from it the most.

“This development will go a long way in helping us make the check-in process easier for our passengers,” he said at the ceremony.

Honrado also laid down the rules on terminal fee exemptions for overseas Filipino workers, Muslim pilgrims, national athletes endorsed by the Philippine Sports Commission, and children under two years of age.

Those exempted must submit an exemption certificate for tickets purchased from ticketing offices and travel agents within the Philippines. If purchased online or outside the Philippines, the terminal fee shall be refunded in Manila upon presentation of the exemption certificate.

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