Announced in February as part of a slew of government reforms, the competitive tender process will require prospective slot managers to demonstrate how they would deliver on those reforms, and “manage and mitigate conflicts of interest in a transparent way”.

Snow, who announced in May he was stepping back from active management of the airport after 26 years, died of natural causes this week.

It was the biggest Pitch Black in the exercise’s 43-year history with missions of more than 50 aircraft at a time in one of the world’s largest military training areas.

Cebu Pacific will increase its flights to Manila from three to four times weekly in December, using its fleet of A330-900neos.