Airlines in the Philippines

The air travel industry in the Philippines grew by 11.6 percent year-on-year in 2011, on the back of strong movement of international and domestic visitors.

Data from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) show that the number of passengers going in and out of the Philippines reached 15.66 million last year, up by 9.6 percent from 14.28 million in 2010.   Combined with the domestic passengers, the country’s total air travel industry grew by 11.57 percent in 2011.

“Overall, 2011 was a year of contrasts. Healthy passenger growth, primarily in the first half of the year, was offset by a declining cargo market. Optimism in China contrasted with gloom in Europe. Ironically, the weak euro supported business travel demand,” International Air Travel Association (IATA) CEO Tony Tyler said.

For 2012, CAB director Carmelo Arcilla said budget flight promotions and a liberal aviation policy will contribute to an expected higher number of passengers this year.  "We are still looking at the double-digit growth because of the popularity of local [budget] carriers," he said.
A study by IATA found that the aviation sector contributes PhP35.5 billion or 0.4 percent to the Philippine GDP.  When taking into account aviation’s support for tourism, it raises the overall contribution to PhP192.2 billion or 2.4 percent of GDP.

The aviation sector also supports 123,000 jobs in the Philippines, including those at airlines, airports, ground services, their supply chains and the jobs created as a result of the spending of those employed in the sector and its supply chain.  The average air transport services employee was approximately 3.8 times more productive compared to the Philippine average.

The study also found that 751,000 people are employed in the tourism industry and a further 2.75 million jobs in the tourism supply chain.  In addition, there were 794,000 people that were supported through the household spending of those employed in the tourism industry and its supply chain.

It said the Philippine tourism relies on aviation, with over 98 percent of foreign visitors arriving in the Philippines by air.  Among the 54 countries included in the study, the Philippines ranks among the highest for reliance on air transport for its foreign visitor arrivals.