LAGUINDINGAN, Misamis Oriental (PIA) — “When the new operator takes over, expect a major development in Laguindingan Airport,” said Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Area 10, and Laguindingan Airport Manager Job B. De Jesus during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas held in Cagayan de Oro City recently.
The CAAP manager said that this expansion of the major gateway in the region will focus on the passenger building terminal because this part of the airport, specifically its pre-departure area, is already congested.
The terminal’s design capacity was originally 1.6 million passengers per year, but in 2019 alone, which is pre-pandemic, CAAP already registered about 2.4 million passengers. This implies that the infrastructure’s capacity has already increased by 40 percent. It gradually increased to 2.01 million passengers in 2023, still out-designing the original capacity at 25 percent.
The management expects that passenger movement will continue to increase in 2024. Currently, it registers an average of 5,700 passengers daily.
Laguindingan Airport’s upcoming development will prioritize the terminal to accommodate more passengers, as well as the runway.
“One of the priorities nila itong pag-extend ng runway natin. Sa ngayon, it can only accommodate ng mga Airbus A321. So, kinakailangan natin at least 3000 [meters] to accommodate bigger aircraft like ‘yung Airbus 330. Dapat maka-land kasi ‘yun. Malaking tulong din yun para ma-decongest, kasi sama-sama na yung passengers kasi I understand, 300 ang capacity nu’n compared to Airbus A320,” the airport manager said.
(One of their priorities is to extend the airport’s runway. For now, it can only accommodate aircraft like the Airbus A321. We need 3000 meters to accommodate larger aircraft, such as the Airbus A330. It needs to land properly. It is a big help to decongest passenger traffic since its capacity is way bigger compared to the Airbus A320.)
He also shared that they have come up with an immediate measure, which is a modular concept type of structure that would serve as an extension of the pre-departure area.
“When you say modular concept, it is transferable. So, kung meron nang permanent structure, pwede naman siyang ilipat. ‘Yung ginagawa natin na mabilisang extension nitong pre-departure can sit about 360, so that will augment the 500 existing capacity ng pre-departure area natin, na ang total is 860. So, meaning to say, sa 860 na passengers na yan na ma-accommodate natin, pwede na nating mapag-sabay-sabay ‘yung apat na airbus. It is expected to be completed by September 1. ‘Yung status natin dito,” he added.
(When you say modular concept, it is transferable. Hence, if there is a permanent structure, it can be moved to another location. The immediate extension that we are coming up with for the pre-departure area can have 360 capacity, which will augment the existing 500 in the pre-departure area, totaling 860. Meaning to say, we can move them altogether to four air buses in a given time. This extension is expected to be completed by September 1.)
Furthermore, the operator in charge of the airport’s development, Airport Manager De Jesus, has scheduled the assessment of the comparative bids submitted by challengers seeking to develop the airport for August 12. (IJBD/PIA-10/Misamis Oriental)
