Loakan Airport Pagtayaban ti Loakan Paliparan ng Loakan | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Owner/Operator | Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines | ||||||||||
Serves | Metro Baguio | ||||||||||
Opened | 1934 | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 1,296 m / 4,251 ft | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 16°22′30″N120°37′10″E / 16.37500°N 120.61944°E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Statistics (2021) | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. [1] |
Loakan Airport( IATA : BAG, ICAO : RPUB) serves the general area of Baguio, Philippines. It is classified as a Class 2 principal (minor domestic) airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). Loakan Airport, the city's only airport, was built in 1934. [2] Its short runway, frequent low visibility, and deep ravines at both ends of the runway continue to challenge pilots greatly, especially when it comes to landing.
The airport was built in 1934 by the American colonial government. [3] On March 15, 1941, the first flight of Philippine Airlines performed by a Beechcraft Model 18 from Manila's Nielson Field landed at the airport. [4] In December 1941, during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the airfield was occupied by the 9th Regiment of the Imperial Japanese Army. The area was recaptured by the United States Army in April 1945. [5]
Commercial flights soon commenced to the airport. However, due to the elevation of the airport and navigational difficulties in an event of low visibilities, the airport was dropped by from the flight routes of many airlines. After the 1990 Luzon earthquake, airlines reduced the number of flights to the airport. [4]
During the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the airport was planned to be closed and converted into an extension of the Baguio City Economic Zone in 2008. That however was discouraged by the officials of the Baguio city government.
During its closure to commercial flights, the airport was used by military and private aircraft.
Plans to revive the airport have been announced by numerous entities over the years. [6] There were attempts to reopen the airport for commercial flights in 2012 and 2015. [7]
In January 2020, the city government of Baguio announced that they were considering a deal from San Miguel Corporation to open and operate the airport in the second quarter of 2020. [8] It had already started moves to ensure that the airport is ready for commercial operations by resolving the issues seen by the CAAP such as the encroachment of residents and obstructions on the runway but have received protests from residents who have legitimate land titles in the area. [9] [10]
Although the city government announced the following year that the airport is now ready to receive commercial flights after it has completed the initial steps outlined by the CAAP to address the safety issues for commercial aircraft, [11] a more targeted opening date was not announced until 2022, with the city government announcing that it aims to reopen the airport in November 2022, in time for the Christmas season. [12] It also announced that it will spend around ₱68 million to rehabilitate the airport terminal. [13]
Loakan Airport reopened on December 16, 2022, with Philippine Airlines (operated by PAL Express) launching the first regular commercial flight to the airport in decades to and from Mactan–Cebu International Airport on the day of the reopening. [14]
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
PAL Express | Cebu |
Francisco Bangoy International Airport, also commonly known as Davao International Airport, is the main airport serving Davao City and Davao Region in the Philippines. Serving as the main gateway to Mindanao, it is the busiest airport on the island and the third busiest in the Philippines in 2022.
Zest Airways, Inc., operated as AirAsia Zest, was a Filipino low-cost airline based at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay, Metro Manila in the Philippines. It operated scheduled domestic and international tourist services, mainly feeder services linking Manila and Cebu with 24 domestic destinations in support of the trunk route operations of other airlines.
Zamboanga International Airport is the main airport serving Zamboanga City in the Philippines. Located on a 270-hectare (670-acre) site in Barangay Canelar, Zamboanga City, the airport is Mindanao's third-busiest airport after Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City and Laguindingan Airport in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental.
Session Road is a six-lane 1.7-kilometer (1.1 mi) major road in Baguio, Philippines. The entire road forms part of National Route 231 (N231) of the Philippine highway network.
Dipolog Airport is the main airport serving the general area of Dipolog, the capital city of Zamboanga del Norte, in the Philippines. The airport is one of the busiest in Mindanao, especially considering its classification. It is classified as a Class 1 principal by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), a body of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) responsible for the operations of airports in the Philippines except the major international ones.
General Santos International Airport, also known as Tambler Airport, is an alternate international airport located in the city of General Santos, Philippines serving the greater area of Soccsksargen. Situated in Fatima, General Santos, it is a large airport on the island of Mindanao and is officially classified as an international airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), a government bureau which is responsible for the management and operations of General Santos International Airport and all other airports in the country except regular international airports.
Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, also known as Tacloban City Airport, is an airport serving the general area of Tacloban, a highly urbanized city in the Leyte island of the Philippines. It is the main gateway from Manila and Cebu to Eastern Visayas. It is classified as a Class 1 principal airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. In 2022, Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport served 1.48 million passengers, making it the seventh-busiest in the country.
Tuguegarao Airport is an airport serving the general area of Tuguegarao, the capital city of the province of Cagayan in the Philippines. Located along Maharlika Highway, the airport is accessible from adjacent municipalities in Cagayan and northern Isabela. It is classified as a major commercial domestic airport by the Air Transportation Office.
Pagadian Airport, classified Principal Airport Class 1 or major domestic by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), is an airport serving the city of Pagadian, the rest of the province of Zamboanga del Sur, and the province of Zamboanga Sibugay in the Philippines. The CAAP is the arm of the Department of Transportation which operates all the airports in the Philippines except the major international airports.
Vigan Airport, also known as Mindoro Airport, is an airport serving the general area of Vigan, the capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, located in the province of Ilocos Sur in the Philippines. The airport is the only one located in Ilocos Sur, at Barangay Mindoro.
Labo Airport, also known as Ozamiz Airport, is an airport serving the general area of the city of Ozamiz in the Philippines. It is the only airport in the province of Misamis Occidental. The airport is classified as a community airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, a body of the Department of Transportation that is responsible for the operations of not only this airport but also of all other airports in the Philippines except the major international airports. It is one of only two community airports in the Philippines with commercial operations, but one of the busiest in Mindanao in terms of aircraft movement and passenger traffic.
Philippine Airlines Flight 206 (PR206) was the route designator of a domestic flight from Manila Domestic Airport, Metro Manila, Philippines, to Loakan Airport, Baguio. On June 26, 1987, the Hawker Siddeley HS 748 crashed onto a mountain en route to Baguio, killing all 50 people on board.
WCC Aviation, Inc., operating as Sky Pasada, is an airline based in Binalonan, Pangasinan, Philippines owned and operated by the Guico family. Founded in 2010, it primarily serves the northern Luzon provinces of Batanes, Cagayan and Isabela as well as the city of Baguio from its hub at Binalonan Airport.
Metro Baguio, also known as BLISTT, is an agglomeration of the city of Baguio and five municipalities of the Philippine province of Benguet, namely: La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay.
Bacolod–Silay International Airport, is an airport serving the general area of Metro Bacolod, located in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.
On August 18, 2012, a Piper PA-34 Seneca light aircraft with four people on board, including Philippine Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, crashed in the sea near the island province of Masbate, Philippines, while flying from Lapu-Lapu City to Naga, Camarines Sur. Robredo and two other occupants were killed in the accident.
Mactan–Cebu International Airport is an international airport serving Cebu and serves as the main gateway to the Central Visayas region in the Philippines. Located on a 797-hectare (1,970-acre) site in Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan, it is the second busiest airport in the Philippines. Opened on April 27, 1966, the airport serves as a hub for Philippine Airlines, and as an operating base for Cebu Pacific and Philippines AirAsia.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the flag carrier of the Philippines, operating from its base at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. PAL is the oldest airline in Asia operating under its original name, having been founded in 1941.