Baguio City—An airline company is set to conduct test flights from Manila to the Loakan Airport that will pave the way for the possible resumption of commercial flights.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said the management of PAL Express signified its intention to conduct test flights from Manila to the Loakan Airport as part of the ongoing efforts to evaluate and assess the safety issues that had been previously raised for the appropriate action of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), concerned government agencies and the local government.
He added that the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) in coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) are now conducting an inventory of the structures that will be demolished and the trees that need to be cut and trimmed for posing obstructions to the flight route of the aircrafts intending to land in the airport.
The local chief executive claimed that CAAP also allocated funds for the overall improvement of the facilities of the airport and the procurement of the required aviation equipment.
Last year, the local government and the CAAP were able to identify some 75 structures within the vicinity of the airport which must be demolished after the same were identified as posing obstructions to the landing route of aircrafts.
According to him, the resumption of flights in and out of the city will play a key role in convincing high-end tourists to prioritize Baguio City as one of their preferred destinations that will help in speeding up the revival of the local tourism industry which is one of the city’s economic drivers as the same had been heavily impacted by the implementation of community quarantine over the past 9 months.
He expressed optimism that the upcoming conduct of test flights in the city will be successful so that the interested airline company will be able to sustain their regular flights.
In 2009, commercial flights in the city were stopped after airline companies that previously served the Manila-Baguio route raised safety issues and the absence of sufficient landing instruments to guide airmen.
