Baguio City sees hope in Loakan airport
FLYING WITH HOPE Baguio City officials say they will never give up pushing for the rehabilitation of Loakan airport. (Photo from skyscrapercity.com)
The city
government of Baguio pledged that it would not give up on the summer capital’s
lone airport.
This is
despite the fact that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)
reiterated that it was not ready to rehabilitate Loakan airport as it would
cost the government more than P440 million.
The proposed
rehabilitation of the airport includes the construction of an access road west
of Runway 09 which will cost P26.7 million. The perimeter fence, on the other
hand, will cost P30.7 million.
An
installation of an Airfield Lighting System costing P50 million is also needed
when the upgrading from Visual Flight Rules to Instrument Flight Rules pushes
through.
The
rehabilitation will also require the construction of a new passenger terminal
building amounting to some P336 million.
CAAP
Director General William Hotchkiss said that before pushing for the
rehaqbilitation of the airport, city and regional officials must first convince
airlines to offer commercial flights to Baguio and secure slots at the
congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Slots at the
Clark International Airport or at the proposed new airport in Sangley Point,
Cavite must be reserved beforehand.
Hotchkiss
also asked for the help of city officials in addressing a major concern of
airlines operating in the airport which is intrusion. People and vehicles have
purportedly been using the airport as access road to their homes, schools and
churches. Furthermore, stray animals and pedestrians frequent the runway.
According to
Deputy Director John Andrews, CAASP Assistant Director General Capt. Beda
Badiola and Hotchkiss, though air transport is important in Baguio, Loakan
airport is still dangerous. They emphasized several aircraft accidents
involving the airport.
The
airport’s location in a mountainous area and the presence of clouds resulting
in poor visibility are among the factors making Loakan unsafe.
Baguio City
Mayor Mauricio Domogan, however, contradicted CAAP’s pronouncement. He said
that the airport had served as a commercial airfield for a long time and no
accidents in the airstrip had ever been recorded.
CAAP
officials revealed though that the government was open to a private-public
partnership through a build-operate-transfer scheme.
They
commented that a private sector could properly maintain the airport and ensure
the observation of protocols, preventing airport intrusions, and convince
airlines to offer commercial flights to Baguio City.
