BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Benjamin Magalong here said on Wednesday, Oct. 5, that regular flights between here and Cebu City might start after the reopening of the Loakan Airport by December.
Magalong discussed the airport reopening with Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista and led a coordination and stakeholder’s meeting at the Baguio Country Club on the possibility of holding regular flights to Baguio from Cebu by the end of the year.
Capt. Stanley Ng, Philippine Airlines (PAL) president and chief operations officer, said that they will undertake their own safety audit of the Baguio Loakan Airport.
He assured Magalong and stakeholders here that PAL is ready to field their Bombardier Q400, an 86-seat turboprop and dual-class airplane for the flights.
The four times a week flight is envisioned to cater to passengers and tourists beyond Cebu, said Bud Britanico, PAL vice president for sales.
“You can have your breakfast 9:20 a.m. in Cebu and your lunch at 11:20 a.m. in Baguio with a 1:20 p.m. return flight.”
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director-General Capt. Manuel Tamayo said that all attendant tower instrumentation, passenger terminal improvement, and airport landing safety and security will be addressed with the P20-million initial DOTr fund release with another P50 million coming from CAAP.
Department of Tourism (DOT)-Cordillera Administrative Region director Jovy Ganongan welcomed the possibility of a Baguio-Cebu flight since they will hold a North Luzon Travel Mart for tour agencies and organizers from Region 7 or Central Visayas in November.
Baguio Tourism Council (BTC) interim chairperson Gladys Vergara fully supports the planned Loakan-Mactan flights that will open new travel and tourism possibilities for Baguio and Cebu.