CAAP allows Borongan airport to accept direct commercial flights

Ruperto Ambil II (middle), Borongan City Airport Operations Project Lead and City Information Officer-in-Charge, poses with Lt. Col. Valentino A. Dionela (2nd from right), Assistant Director General II, and other personnel of CAAP’s Aerodrome Development and Management Service after their meeting in Pasay City on June 22. (Photo Courtesy: Borongan City Information Office)

BORONGAN CITY, Eastern Samar – The Borongan City Airport got the green light from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) last week to accept flights operated by major airline companies and to commence seeking potential commercial airline partners.

The city’s airport operation project officials met with CAAP’s Aerodome Development and Management Service, Assistant Director-General Lt. Col Valentino Dionela, to confer the current technical operational specifications of the airport.

According to CAAP, the airport — located in Punta Maria village in Borongan City, Eastern Samar province — can only accommodate turboprop aircrafts such as ATR72, Bombardier’s Q300, and Q400 because of the short 1.3-kilometer runway length.

However, CAAP said that a 200-meter extension for the runway was underway to fully maximize the capacity of the aircrafts.

Ruperto Ambil II, the Borongan City Airport Operations Project Lead and Information Officer-in-Charge, said that this vital information shared by CAAP will aid the city government in starting negotiations with commercial airlines.

“Our fellow Boronganons, as well as potential tourists, no longer have to travel from other regional airports just to visit us,” Ambil explained.

Ambil also said that their team is now currently in negotiations with commercial airlines.

Borongan City Mayor Jose Ivan “Dayan” Agda, who was reelected as mayor, stated that It is part of his commitment to open countless opportunities for his constituents and help increase economic activities in the city.

“With a direct flight from Borongan City to Manila or Cebu, we can definitely expect a boost in tourism that will eventually lead to more economic opportunities for Boronganons,” Agda said.

At present, local residents from Eastern Samar have to travel by land for at least 5 hours to reach the nearest airport located in Tacloban City, the gateway to the Eastern Visayas region.

In April 2019, Borongan City inaugurated its first commercial flight from Borongan to Clark, Pangasinan with airline firm Leading Edge Air Services Corporation.

Leading Edge serviced flights from Borongan to Clark and Cebu for only three months.

The establishment of commercial flights from the city was operated under the term of former Governor Marcelo “Dindo” Picardal, however, the flights were discontinued after his term ended in June of the same year, as a result of Picardal losing his reelection bid as governor.

With the recent developments, the local government of Borongan hoped for a growth in the economy if the plans of having direct flights to Manila would materialize.

Borongan is known for its fine sand beaches, unspoiled rivers, forests, and surfing–the main selling point to tourists.

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