No layoffs at NAIA, Bautista assures workers
NAIA Terminal 3 photo by PortCalls.
  • Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista assured MIAA personnel there will be no layoffs with the modernization of Ninoy Aquino International Airport
  • As part of the concession agreement with SMC-SAP, Inc. MIAA personnel will retain their jobs, the transport chief said
  • The incoming concessionaire will prioritize hiring current employees, ensuring no one will lose their job in the process
  • MIAA employees not involved in operations will continue their roles within the agency

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista assured Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) personnel there will be no layoffs when the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) modernization starts.

During the agency’s 42nd anniversary celebration on March 8, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) chief emphasized that, as part of the concession agreement with SMC-SAP, Inc., existing MIAA personnel will retain their positions.

READ: SMC-led consortium bags P170.6B NAIA rehabilitation project

The incoming concessionaire will prioritize hiring current employees, ensuring no one will lose their job in the process while MIAA employees not involved in operations will continue their roles within the agency, according to Bautista.

“If you believe you have a particular skill-set necessary to keep this airport functioning, you have no reason to be anxious,” he said.

According to Sec. Bautista, MIAA will focus on being an airport regulator while the concessionaire will be in charge of operations and maintenance of NAIA.

“The whole exercise is intended to modernize NAIA, bring it in step with global aviation transformation,” Bautista said.

He urged MIAA employees to contribute to restoring NAIA’s reputation as a premier global gateway during the transition, emphasizing the need for a swift reversal of its negative image. “That needs to happen fast. Make sure you have the right morals and values when the transition starts,” he said.

NAIA has figured in various lists of among the worst airports in the world. In February alone, it was ranked fourth worst airport in Asia by a UK website. On a scale of 1 to 10, business travelers in a businessfinancing.co.uk survey gave NAIA an average rating of 2.78 among airports in Asia.

Recently there have been reports of bed bugs and rats in NAIA Terminal 3.

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