THE Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) and the Provincial Government are set to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to develop a commercial airport in Bantayan Island.
MCIAA General Manager Steve Dicdican said they want the existing 900-meter airstrip in Sta. Fe that was opened during the time of former governor Lito Osmeña to be declared as a community airport, based on standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Then the Province will further develop it into a commercial airport with a target completion of 2021.
Dicdican said they will increase the runway’s length to 1.5 kilometers so it can accommodate direct flights from Manila and other cities.
“If this will happen, then Bantayan Island will be at par with Caticlan airport with (a runway) 1.6 kilometers in length, and is accommodating thousands of tourists for Boracay,” he said.
The primary task of the project is to attract more tourists to Bantayan, he said.
“The current airport is not yet up to aviation standards. So, MCIAA will make it an airport that conforms to aviation standards. But next year, I am sure we can make it a community airport first, then a commercial airport,” Dicdican said.
He said a community airport’s runway can only accommodate small airplanes, but a commercial airport can cater to plane that carry more than 100 passengers.
Dicdican said the airstrip in Sta. Fe is technically owned by the MCIAA because under the previous agreement, there was a provision that the Province was obliged to transfer the land title to the airport authority.