ILOILO – The expansion of the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan town is an overdue practical need, said Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.
He particularly pointed out that the passenger terminal and the departure area are now crowded, not including international flights to and from Singapore and Hongkong, and will be further overloaded once flight operations resume to pre-pandemic levels.
“Ang main terminal naton, kon magbalik sa pre-pandemic levels ang flights naton kag magdulongan sila, indi kaigu ang mga tawo sa departure. Amo na ka practical sang expansion nga kinahanglan naton,” said Defensor.
He disclosed that during his last term as a 3rd District congressman, a budget back then was available and a committee hearing by the Committee on Transportation was supposedly scheduled. It did not push through as the 2019 midterm elections were also underway.
With the announcement by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)-Iloilo that the Iloilo Airport is up for expansion in 2023 through a public-private partnership, Defensor said he was delighted.
The governor also requested that the CAAP-Iloilo improves other facilities and amenities in the airport such as the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, air-conditioning, and comfort rooms.
Earlier, CAAP-Iloilo terminal supervisor Arthur Parreño said it has been 15 years since the airport opened in 2007, and improvements and expansions are “long overdue.”
The main passenger terminal, designed to accommodate only 400 to 450 passengers, should be expanded, said Parreño.
He added that the airport now caters to 20 flights (both departure and arrival) a day, and every flight has about 170 to 200 passengers.
Three departures or outgoing flights in the morning would have over 600 passengers combined, way above the current capacity.
Another airport area that needs expansion is the runway, said Parreño, especially now that three airlines – Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia – resumed their usual number of flights.
Iloilo Airport is situated on 188 hectares of land covering barangays Tabucan, Tiring, Gaub, Duyan-Duyan, and Manguna in Cabatuan.
The airport complex consists of a single runway, various administrative and maintenance buildings, waste-sorting and water-treatment facilities, a power-generating station, a cargo terminal, and a main passenger terminal.
In October 2022 Transportation secretary Jaime Bautista announced that the airport was set to undergo an upgrade under a PPP scheme and expected the completion of these airport projects in the provinces by 2023 as part of efforts to boost travel and tourism in the country./PN
