9 PH airports receive ‘star ratings’ from UK firm

Nine Philippine airports received “star ratings” from the Official Aviation Guide (OAG), an air travel intelligence company based in the United Kingdom, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announced Thursday. (File Photo: Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — Nine Philippine airports received “star ratings” from the Official Aviation Guide (OAG), an air travel intelligence company based in the United Kingdom, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announced Thursday.

The results of the 2017-2018 OAG On-Time Performance (OTP) star ratings for airlines and airports were announced this month, according to CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio.

Apolonio told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that this is the second time that Philippine airports have received star ratings from the OAG. The first was in 2017.

For this year, eight Philippine airports received a 1-star rating: Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Mactan-Cebu International Airport, and the provincial airports in Iloilo, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao, Tacloban and Puerto Princesa. Clark International Airport, on the other hand, received 2-star rating.

Apolonio said the OTP rating does not rely on whether the flights are on-time or not.

The two criteria, according to CAAP, are that all airlines and airports must have a minimum of 600 operations a month (minimum of 2.5 million departed seats), and OAG must receive flight status information for no less than 80 percent of scheduled flights within a 12-month period.

“We’re talking of 4,000 airports, and to receive the star rating shows that our airports are functioning well,” Apolonio explained.

He added that since the star rating is based on the number of operations, CAAP is really expecting a 1 to 2 stars rating for the Philippine airports. Highest is a 5-star, he said.

Meanwhile, the eight Philippine airports that have received a star rating for 2016-2017 were NAIA, Iloilo International Airport, Bacolod-Silay Airport, Laguindingan International Airport, Davao International Airport, Tacloban Airport, Puerto Princesa International Airport and Kalibo International Airport.