Iloilo: Direct flights to Hong Kong and Korea

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Cebu-Pacific will soon launch its Iloilo-Hongkong flights, and the Korean Airlines will also mount its South Korea-Iloilo flights, Mendoza said during the ground-breaking ceremony of the P124-million secondary access road in Brgy. Tabucan, Cabatuan leading to the Iloilo Airport on Friday.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered to establish an international desk at the Iloilo Airport. It will be administered by the Customs Immigration and Quarantine.

“The Iloilo Airport is now complete,” declared Mendoza as he emphasized that the airport has already been declared an “international destination.”

He expressed confidence that with the international flights, investors will come in to spur economic development in Region 6.

This could be achieved because of the potential of the area near the airport to become an industrial zone, “eventually becoming an economic zone,” Mendoza explained.

It was the Regional Development Council (RDC), the highest policy-making body of Western Visayas, that lobbied to make the Iloilo Airport service international flights.

Though of international standards, the Iloilo Airport presently accommodates local flights.
Two Western Visayas airports already accommodate international flights – the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport in Caticlan, Malay, Aklan and the Kalibo International Airport in Kalibo, Aklan.
If the Iloilo Airport is made to service international flights, it could generate an average daily income of P280,000 from terminal fee collections, a study of RDC’s Regional Project Monitoring Committee showed.

The airport currently serves 16 outgoing flights daily, with an average volume of 90 passengers per flight.

Straddling Sta. Barbara and Cabatuan towns 19 kilometers northwest of Iloilo City, the Iloilo Airport opened its doors to commercial traffic on June 14, 2007 after a decade of planning and construction, replacing Mandurriao airport in the city which had been in service for over 70 years.

The airport is officially designated as a Class 1 principal (major domestic) airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the body responsible for the operations of all airports in the country.

The airport sits on a 188-hectare site. It consists of a single runway, various administrative and maintenance buildings, waste sorting and water treatment facilities, a power generating station, a cargo terminal and a main passenger terminal.

Unlike the runway in Mandurriao, the longer runway at the new Iloilo Airport can support aircraft as large as the Airbus A330. Runway lights and an Instrument Landing System were installed, making it capable of supporting low-visibility and night landings.

Its location on the Tomas Confesor Highway, a major highway traversing Panay Island, makes the airport accessible from all parts of Iloilo and Panay by road, while its proximity to the currently defunct Panay Railways network could potentially link the airport to the rest of Panay by rail.

Built in slightly over 30 months, Iloilo Airport is one of the largest airports to be constructed in the Philippines. At its inauguration, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remarked that the airport was the most beautiful and modern in the country and called it a symbol of both political will and economic maturity.

The airport has a 13,700-square-meter main passenger terminal designed to accommodate around 1.2 million passengers annually. It is divided into three levels: arrivals and baggage claim on the first floor, check-in on the second floor and departures on the third floor.

The pre-departure area has a capacity of 436 passengers.

Three jet bridges protrude from the terminal above a 48,000-square-meter apron, enabling the airport to handle up to six aircraft simultaneously.

The terminal is equipped with six X-ray machines, as well as escalators and staircases for departing and arriving passengers' use.

There are also two elevators, one for very important persons and one for disabled passengers.
Other amenities available to passengers include a special smoking room, a VIP lounge, a Mabuhay Lounge for Philippine Airlines business class passengers and counters for hotel and car rental bookings, as well as areas for airport stores and payphones.

Meanwhile, it has a 1,281-square-meter cargo terminal designed to handle up to 11,500 tons of cargo annually. The three-storey building has a covered platform, bathrooms, government offices and cargo handling areas, as well as its own parking lot.

The Iloilo airport has a modern 35-meter tall control tower equipped with air navigation equipment and radar systems. A briefing room for pilots is found inside the control tower.

Additionally, the airport complex has a fire station equipped with three fire trucks, a maintenance building, a mechanical building and an administrative building.

In front of the passenger terminal is a 415-slot parking lot for the use of passengers, employees and airport visitors.

The airport has a power back-up system and a power generating station that enables it to run in the event of a power outage, returning the supply of electric power to the facility within three seconds.

The airport also has water treatment facilities and a six-hectare man-made pond used for flood control and drainage purposes, as well as for the irrigation of nearby farmlands.

A waste treatment and sorting facility on the airport grounds converts solid waste into fertilizer for the use of surrounding farms.

Source: Panay News


I have a friend in Iloilo and he confirmed that the new Airport is really a modern, impressive Airport. Only disadvantage .. the area is 16 km outside of Iloilo and the old Airport was close to the center.
Land prices around the new Airport exploded ... Investors paid more than 20000 PHP per sqm ...

Some photos:

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I read that some people even rate the new Iloilo airport as one of the Philippines best airport:

New Iloilo Airport: One of the Philippines’ Best

I ’ve always believed that first impressions last. This is my philosophy when I travel. The first thing I see becomes my impression of what I should expect in that particular place.

In this case, I’m talking about airports. I believe airports are a key indicator of progress. When I visit different cities around the country, I always explore the airport’s amenities and see how clean and modern they are. I’m actually proud to see that some of the major cities in our country now have airports that adhere to international standards. I have excluded the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in this list to give way to the regional aviation hubs.

1. Iloilo International Airport

After almost a decade of planning, Iloilo Airport formally opened its doors two years ago replacing the old Mandurriao Airport. Located 19 km north of Iloilo at a 188-hectare site in Cabatuan and Sta. Barbara towns, the new Iloilo International Airport is one of the most modern and best designed airports in the country today. Its all-glass and steel beam structure with curved roofings resembles that of Hong Kong International Airport at a smaller scale. Leading to the terminal is a 3-km access road with landscaped center islands. The terminal also boasts of pocket gardens similar to other modern airports in the world. It’s still very new and clean, so I hope the government will maintain it really well.

2. New Bacolod-Silay Airport

As a Negrense, I am proud to see the province finally having a state-of-the-art airport of international standards in my hometown in Silay City. Located 15 km northeast of Bacolod City, the new Bacolod-Silay Airport opened its commercial operations early last year replacing the old Bacolod Domestic Airport. Today, it is the third largest international airport in the Visayas, just next to Cebu and Iloilo International Airports. The P4.3-billion airport complex is designed to accommodate one million passengers annually. Designed with an all-glass and steel beam structure, the main passenger terminal is equipped with a modern flight information display system comparable to other international airports. It also has a 300-car parking area and a spacious departure lobby.

3. Davao International Airport

The busiest airport in Mindanao, known as Francisco Bangoy International Airport, had a major facelift six years ago to become one of the most modern international airports in the country today. The Malay-inspired architectural design of the airport terminal speaks about Davao’s cultural heritage. This airport has the most spacious departure lobby outside Metro Manila, with 14 domestic and international check-in counters. The 3-km runway of this airport can accommodate 8 to 10 aircraft landings per hour and can handle wide-bodied aircraft including the gigantic Airbus 380. For those who want to do last-minute shopping and dining, there are wide choices of food and retail stores inside the terminal.

4. Mactan-Cebu International Airport

Undoubtedly, the airport of the Queen City of the South would make it in the Top 5. Though the terminal is already old, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport still has the unique charm and hospitality that Cebuanos exude. During my last trip to Cebu, I was so amazed that the airport now provides free Internet stations to departing passengers. The terminal also has adequate pasalubong shops and restaurants to choose from. There are also spas and massage services available to those who want to relax before flying. I just hope though that the government will soon upgrade the airport’s facilities and amenities to be at par with other modern airports in the country.

5. Diosdado Macapagal International Airport

It is surprising to see how this airport has transformed into a premier international aviation hub in just a few years. Situated inside the Clark Special Economic Zone, it is considered to be one of the biggest aviation complexes in Asia with its 3.2-km parallel runways that can accommodate huge aircraft. Today, the airport services major low-cost carriers in Asia such as Tiger Airways and Air Asia. Its terminal may not be as modern as those in this list, but an expansion of the terminal building is underway. If finished, the new terminal may serve up to four million passengers annually.