Kalibo Airport Opens Runway Extension

Apron and Terminal Still A Long Way To Go!

12 April 2017


Kalibo airport runway extension will be operational soon after completing safety inspection and formal turnover to the airport operator, according to the Transportation Department (DOTR).

Construction for the 200 meter runway extension began in 2015 lengthening the runway to 2.5km to comply with international standards after expropriation battles with some land owners ended on positive note. The rest of the acquisition however failed after affected landowners contested offers of the provincial government.

DOTR said some gains has been made on the lands intended for runway strip as well as the Runway Safety Area (RSA) that surrounds the existing runway but the land for the new apron and terminal building remained with private land holders preventing the agency from constructing new facilities at the contested sites.

The implementation of the ₱6 billion Pesos airport development project has been hampered by land compensation dispute aggravated by 154 farmers demand for disturbance pay due to work displacement from the existing rice fields.

CAAP Deputy Director General Manuel Antonio Tamayo said the lengthening of the runway is the first step to the airports upgrade while the rest of the desired land area are being negotiated in court.

Tamayo confirmed that land acquisition problems for Phase I and II of the project intended for the apron, terminal building, parking and other support facilities comprising about 500 hectares are still pending resolution in court as landowners went to court to seek reasonable compensation from the government.

Private lands affected by Kalibo international airport development projects were those situated in Barangay Nalook, Tigayon, Pook and Kaano, in the municipality of Kalibo.

5 comments:

  1. can the 2500m runway accomodate wide-body jets? this can relieve congestion by combining capacities of smaller jets.

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    1. Yes. For destination up to four hours, even 2k runway is enough.

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  2. Now that Caticlan can accept jets, why bother to go to Kalibo? They should consider a nonstop ferry service to Boracay from KLO. Otherwise there's no point in flying to that airport.

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    1. Well for one, Kalibo is international and Caticlan isn't. Second, former is gateway while the latter is not. There are other technical and legal limitations but the two would suffice in a nutshell. So if you are coming from abroad you will have to land at gateway airports in the PH. That supposes you understood what gateway airport means.

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  3. That's true-but won't Caticlan be International in 2018? I'm not sure of the amount of traffic going to Kalibo that isn't headed to Boracay, but it seems a bit counter intuitive to focus on building a new terminal when a competing destination airfield is focused on taking a large portion of the passenger base. Granted - if the fares are low enough, the demand will continue to rise, but will they want to endure the two hour ride to the Caticlan Jetty Port? Having said that - Caticlan seems to have a bit of trouble adjusting the jets that have shown up. Facilities are taxed and I find it odd that you need to ride the bus through town to get from the plane to the terminal.

    BTW - I really enjoy your blog!

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