THE Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) is not giving up on Loakan airport as a general aviation facility, but commercial flight operations will now depend to investors.
Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya announced the 1.6-kilometer Loakan airport remains a lifeline for emergency needs of the Philippine Military Academy, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and other major businesses in Baguio City.
“We have to maintain the Loakan airport for general aviation but it will now be up to the airline companies if they want to service the route amidst geographic issues and the absence of appropriate airport facilities,” Abaya added.
The DOTC official failed to outline whether or not the government will be implementing projects that will upgrade the equipments in the airport that will convince commercial airline companies to consider servicing the Manila-Baguio-Manila route.
Last year, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) started negotiating with an airline company to make the Loakan Airport commercially viable for airline flights again.
Officer-in-charge Ramon Ramos said Caap, the City Government, and the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) are under negotiation with an airline company, which expressed interest in reviving regular flights to the city.
This is the reason, he said, why Caap North Luzon Area has informed residents around the airport by placing a signage informing the public the Loakan Airport had to be closed for pedestrians and motor vehicles.
The safety of the flying public, he added, remains the utmost concern for airlines which is why there is a need for the closure of the access gates.
Pedestrians and motor vehicles will have to use the access roads beside the airport to go to their residences on the other side of Loakan Proper Barangay.
The airline company that earlier expressed interest of reviving airline flights has already conducted ocular inspections at the airport runway and found the runway and terminal feasible for their aircrafts.
But another round of negotiation will still be conducted to check air navigational equipment with the technical working group (TWG) of CAAP central office and assurance from the tourism sector players such as the HRAB that flights will have regular passengers on peak and off-peak tourism seasons.
It can be recalled that a TWG tasked by the Regional Development Council or RDC has proposed for the rehabilitation of the airport that will include an access road west of Runway 09 costing nearly P26.7 million and perimeter fence costing P30.7 million.
This will also include the upgrading of the airport from Visual Flight Rules to Instrument Flight Rules, installation of an Airfield Lighting System costing P50 million and proposed construction of a new passenger terminal building costing P336 million.