Longer runways eyed to lower airfares

The government is planning to extend the runways of all regional and provincial airports in the country in order to accommodate larger aircraft and lower airfare rates, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

In a statement on Thursday, the DOTr said that runways of existing and new airports must now have a minimum length of 2,100 meters. Airports with no room for extension are exempted from the new policy.

The DOTr added that it is also working with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) to require airports to put up more lights to allow nighttime or early morning flights to further reduce airfare rates.

“We are prioritizing tourist airports. Because when an airport is night-rated, our countrymen can travel at night or early morning, and that is what we usually call red-eye flight. In practice, airfare is more affordable with night-rating,” acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said.

The Caap has supervisory and regulatory jurisdiction over 88 airports in the country. The busiest is Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, which was recorded to have served more than 31 million passengers in 2025.

It is followed by Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao, Godofredo P. Ramos Airport in Aklan and the Iloilo International Airport.

Lower terminal fees

Lopez said the DOTr and Caap are also studying ways to reduce airport terminal fees.

“For terminal fees, that is under the jurisdiction of Caap. [For] airports under Caap and DOTr, we are looking at how to lower the terminal fees. We will check, and if it can be reduced, we will lower it,” said Lopez.

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), an attached agency of the DOTr, earlier explained that the ticket prices of domestic flights are largely affected by airport capacity and the size of the aircraft.

Larger aircraft allow airlines to spread operational costs across more passengers, reducing the price of tickets. However, some airports can only be served by small turboprop aircraft because of the short runways, CAB said.

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Another way to Siargao

By making domestic travel more affordable, the DOTr hopes to encourage more tourists to visit the country’s top destinations, as the Philippines lags behind neighboring nations in terms of international visitors.

For now, Lopez said the Philippine Ports Authority has constructed a cruise terminal in Siargao, that offers ticket prices for only P3,500 to provide travelers with an alternative option.

“That is also one option. Travel time, however, is much longer, more or less 28 hours, but at least the ship there is like a cruise vessel,” Lopez said.

Last year, the DOTr asked airlines such as Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific to reduce the one-way airfare to Siargao from P17,500 to around P11,700. Currently, the cheapest one-way ticket to the island costs about P3,908.