New Bacolod, Iloilo airports declared int’l gateways
By Carla Gomez
Visayas Bureau
First Posted 21:18:00 01/17/2008
BACOLOD CITY—The Philippine government will declare the New Bacolod-Silay and Iloilo airports as international gateways open to flights from neighboring Asian countries, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza said yesterday.
“We are declaring both airports international gateways because they conform to international standards. And if there are airlines that want to bring in international flights they can operate immediately,” Mendoza said.
The two airports, he said, met standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao).
The P5.6-billion New Bacolod-Silay Airport in Barangay Bagtic, Silay, begins domestic flight operations today.
Declaring the airport an international gateway will bring progress to Negros Occidental, Mendoza said, citing as example the vicinity around the Cebu International Airport that has become an industrial zone.
“They are building two golf courses around the new Iloilo airport and declaring an area as an industrial zone,” he said. Mendoza said the Kalibo airport that had been declared an international gateway now had daily flights from Korea, with some flights also coming in from China.
The Philippine government is also opening other airports, such as the Lagindingan Airport in Cagayan de Oro City, replacing the existing Cagayan de Oro and Iligan airports that are sitting on plateaus with very low cloud ceilings, Mendoza said.
The Lagindingan Airport is 40 kilometers from the Cagayan de Oro Airport and the Santa Barbara Airport in Iloilo is 22 km from Iloilo City.
Mendoza also disclosed that the Philippines would host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) transportation ministers meeting for 2008.
“The more international destinations we have, the better for the country because we are going to be competitive,” he said.
The secretary, however, said the old Bacolod airport could not be upgraded to international standards because it did not have the space and could not be compliant with Icao standards.
The Icao requires that the distance between two airports should not be less than 40 km. The distance between the Bacolod and Silay airports is only 18 km.
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