Francisco B. Reyes Airport

Francisco B. Reyes Airport (Filipino: Paliparang Francisco B. Reyes; Hiligaynon: Hulugpaan sang Francisco B. Reyes), more commonly known as Busuanga Airport (IATA: USU, ICAO: RPVV), is an airport serving the general area of Coron, located in Busuanga Island in the province of Palawan, Philippines.[2] It is also shared with the neighboring municipality of Busuanga, located on the western half of the island. Since November 10, 2008, the airport has been named after Francisco B. Reyes, the mayor of Coron from 1936 to 1939 who donated the land that forms the current airport complex.[3]

Francisco B. Reyes Airport

Paliparang Francisco B. Reyes
Hulugpaan sang Francisco B. Reyes
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorCivil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
ServesCoron and Busuanga, Palawan
LocationDecalachao, Coron, Palawan
Elevation AMSL45 m / 148 ft
Coordinates12°07′17″N 120°06′00″E
Map
USU/RPVV
Location in the Philippines
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08/26 1,225 4,019 Concrete
Statistics (2017)
Passengers525,044
Aircraft movements(2017)10,119
Cargo in kgs (2017)5,359,011
Source: Statistics from eFOI[1]

The airport is classified as a Class 2 principal (minor domestic) airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, a body of the Department of Transportation and Communications that is responsible for the operations all airports in the Philippines except the major international airports.

The airport is surrounded by a protected ranch used to raise cows. The grass growing on the property is imported from Australia.[4]

History and expansion

Francisco B. Reyes Airport is the target of two expansion projects. The first expansion, funded in part by a $3 million loan from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in cooperation with the Department of Transportation and Communications, broke ground in March 2007.[5] The expansion, which included the construction of a new terminal building, the completion of the airport's then-unfinished concrete runway and the upgrading of other facilities, was inaugurated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on November 17, 2008.[6]

The airport terminal was severely damaged by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in November 2013. Rehabilitation work was commenced by the municipality of Coron immediately after the typhoon to enable the airport to continue receiving passengers,[7] and was completed by October 2014.[8] Traffic to and from Coron was negatively affected by the airport's closure, with tourist arrivals falling by up to 75%.[9]

A ₱4.1 billion second expansion is also planned for the airport, funded entirely by the national government, with the aim of making it capable of supporting both jet and nighttime operations.[10][7]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Air Juan Caticlan, Manila, Puerto Princesa, San Vicente
AirSWIFT El Nido, Puerto Princesa
Cebu Pacific
operated by Cebgo 		Cebu, Manila
Philippine Airlines
operated by PAL Express 		Cebu, Clark, Manila[11]
SkyJet Manila

See also

References
  1. Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (23 July 2018). "Yearly Passenger, Cargo and Aircraft Movements of all airports in the Philippines 1997-2017". Republic of the Philippines - Freedom of Information Portal. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  2. "Handy Busuanga airport information from Skyscanner". www.skyscanner.com.ph. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  3. Republic of the Philippines. (Enacted: November 10, 2008). Proclamation No. 1665, s. 2008 - RENAMING BUSUANGA AIRPORT TO FRANCISCO B. REYES AIRPORT LOCATED AT THE MUNICIPALITY OF CORON, PROVINCE OF PALAWAN. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  4. "Handy Busuanga airport information from Skyscanner". www.skyscanner.com.ph. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  5. Quismundo, Tarra (March 18, 2007). "Airport upgrade seen making Coron the next tourism gateway". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  6. "Arroyo to inaugurate upgraded Busuanga airport Monday". GMA News. GMA Network. November 16, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  7. Formoso, Celeste Anna R. (January 31, 2014). "TIEZA appropriates funds for expansion of Busuanga Airport in northern Palawan". Philippines News Agency. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  8. Bayos, Kris (November 9, 2014). "Gov't eyes new airport for Leyte". Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. Archived from the original on August 25, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  9. Cayon, Manuel (June 11, 2015). "More passengers use Busuanga airport". BusinessMirror. Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  10. "PH gov't gives go-ahead to P62B worth of infrastructure projects". PortCalls Asia. ProQuest Publishing, Inc. June 4, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  11. Liu, Jim. "Philippine Airlines Clark / Manila domestic network changes from March 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.