Posts circulating on Facebook claimed LTP would discontinue its line maintenance operations by August 2026, potentially affecting several hundred aircraft maintenance personnel assigned across Manila, Cebu, Clark, Davao and General Santos. The posts quickly spread among aviation workers.
Line maintenance refers to on-the-spot repairs and checks done on aircraft on airport ramps, while they are unloading or embarking passengers for example, as opposed to base or heavy maintenance which involve taking the planes out of service for a few days or weeks.
Some posts cited the increase in rental rates at the Villamor Air Base complex occupied by LTP following the privatization of NAIA’s operations in 2024, but the bulk of them vented their ire against the government for their plight.
A source familiar with the matter said the situation was more nuanced than the online narrative suggested.
Apparently, LTP personnel directly supporting Philippine Airlines’ line maintenance requirements will be absorbed by PAL’s maintenance organization as part of a transition arrangement. Specifically, PAL will reportedly assume responsibility for line maintenance services for its PAL fleet flying around the country.
The source said the planned restructuring primarily affects only the line maintenance business and does not involve LTP’s larger base maintenance operations at NAIA, which services Airbus and Boeing aircraft for international carriers.
The social media posts emerged just hours after it was revealed that LTP, MacroAsia Corp., and New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. had finally reached a lease agreement after months of negotiations.
LTP’s 25-year lease — sealed in the early 1990s at the price of P65 per square meter — expired last year, and the government-mandated lease rate under the new NAIA operator was raised to P710 per square meter to account for the increase in property rentals in the last quarter of a century.
Apparently, LTP was the last NAIA locator to agree to the adjusted lease rates, long after others like SIA Engineering, Cebu Pacifics APlus, and Asian Digital Engineering of AirAsia had agreed to pay the higher fees.
Senior Reporter
