AirAsia Group has joined forces with PT Angkasa Pura II, the state-owned operator of 16 active and planned airports in Indonesia, in its bid for a concession to run Angeles City Clark International in the Philippines, Bilyonaryo has reported.
The Malaysian LCC group announced its intention to bid for the 25-year maintenance and operation concession at Clark in early August 2018.
PT Angkasa Pura II is fully owned by the Indonesian Ministry of Transport. Among others, the company operates the airports at Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta, Jakarta Halim, Padang, Palembang, Pontianak, and Medan Kuala Namu. Its sister company PT Angkasa Pura I operates a further 14 active and planned airports in central and eastern Indonesia, including the country's second-largest gateway at Denpasar.
AirAsia Group's bid would be jointly submitted by AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, and Philippines AirAsia.
The Filipino unit of the LCC group currently operates 29 weekly departures out of Clark, an airport increasingly seen by airlines as an alternative to the nearby congested Manila Ninoy Aquino International. AirAsia returned to the airport in late 2017 after a four-year hiatus.
The AirAsia/PT Angkasa Pura II consortium will compete against eight entities, mostly equity funds and specialised airport operators.
