MANILA -- Two new rapid exit taxiways were opened Monday afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
The rapid exit taxiways will help aircraft to exit faster, and go to the four terminals of NAIA.
"Upon landing, an aircraft would not need to wait or traverse the whole length of the runway, as it could just take the taxiway to exit," Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Media Affairs Division head, Jess Martinez, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
NAIA now has a total of four rapid exit taxiways.
Martinez said the existing two taxiways could accommodate small aircraft like the A320. The two new ones could accommodate larger, wide-bodied aircraft, he added.
Having the four taxiways will definitely help the aircraft move faster. "It's hard to say or assume the minutes that we could save. But there were 40 movements per hour before. With the taxiways, we could take more (movements) because aircraft could now take off and land faster," he said.
Meanwhile, Martinez said MIAA didn't ask the national government or anyone for the PHP309 million budget used for the two new taxiways. It was taken from MIAA's 2017 budget, he said.
The project started in June 2017 and was finished in July 2018.
MIAA assumes that the taxiways' "design life" is good for 20 years.
"After 20 years, there will be rehabilitation. It would take 20 years because taxiways are made of concrete and asphalt," Martinez clarified.
He added that NAIA's runway, for instance, is being rehabilitated every five years.
"We do it (rehabilitation or repair) phase by phase. That's the reason why we close the runway every 12 midnight to 6 a.m.," Martinez said. (PNA)
