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Sangley Not Ready For Commercial Flights

12 June 2019



Department of Transportation (DoTr) has disclosed that Sangley airport in Cavite is not ready to receive commercial traffic in December due to operational constraints. (See project here)

Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation Manuel Antonio L. Tamayo said they might be able to start handling general aviation flights by November but commercial flights operated by turbo propellers (turboprops) will have to be deferred for at least one year because of some concerns valid only for airline operations.

Operational constraints include among others the installation of runway lights and associated navigational equipment necessary for it to operate at night and bad weather. DOTr is scheduled to install them next year.

“We’ll be setting up a new control tower together with the night rating of the airport,” he said.

DOTr is setting up Sangley airport to accommodate 30,000 aircraft movements per annum or about 8 aircraft movements per hour, and about 2.1 million passengers from airlines operating DHC-8-400, ATR72-600 aircraft, which is the biggest passenger aircraft allowed to be operated at the airport.

“We are currently working on the drainage, and the hangars for general aviation aircraft. They will be completed ahead of time. The ramp and passenger terminal building is also under construction,”Tamayo said.

A ramp is an area of the airport intended to accommodate aircraft for purposes of loading or unloading passengers. Four parking stands are being constructed to service passengers under a taxi-in/ taxi-out procedure similar to those employed in the provinces.

“Our timeline is originally December opening. Will do our best to have it open by November if that's what the President wants.” Tamayo adds.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte earlier ordered the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to immediately utilize Sangley airport in Cavite to help decongest Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Monday evening during the 38th cabinet meeting.

Transport Secretary Art Tugade said it expects Sangley airport to start handling general aviation flights by December but Duterte said the timeline is too long and wanted it open a month earlier in November.



Tugade already ordered the contractor, Unimasters Conglomeration (UNIC), a Tacloban-based company, to add more men and work 24/7 to expedite the project.

Some 1,500 general aviation flights per month will be affected with the transfer according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).


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