Loakan Airport

Loakan Airport (Ilocano: Pagtayaban ti Loakan, Tagalog: Paliparan ng Loakan) (IATA: BAG, ICAO: RPUB) serves the general area of Baguio City, Philippines. It is classified as a Class 2 principal (minor domestic) airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). Loakan Airport, the city's only airport, was built in 1934.[2] Its short runway, frequent low visibility, and deep ravines at both ends of the runway continue to challenge pilots greatly, especially when it comes to landing.

Loakan Airport

Pagtayaban ti Loakan
Paliparan ng Loakan
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorCivil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
ServesBaguio
LocationLoakan Proper, Baguio, Benguet
Elevation AMSL1,296 m / 4,251 ft
Coordinates16°22′30″N 120°37′10″E
Map
BAG/RPUB
Location in the Philippines
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 1,802 5,912 Concrete
Statistics (2014)
Passengers2,035
Aircraft movements844
Metric tonnes of cargo0
Statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.[1]

The airport is currently closed, but plans to revive the airport have been announced by numerous entities over the years.[3] In January 2020, before the Philippines suffered the COVID-19 Pandemic, the City Government of Baguio announced that they were considering a deal from San Miguel Corporation to open and operate the airport in the second quarter of 2020. However, this did not materialize due to the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon which took into effect in March that year.[4]

Incidents and accidents
  • A Philippine Airlines DC-3 was lost on takeoff in 1952.[5]
  • On the morning of June 27, 1987, Philippine Airlines Flight 206 a Hawker Siddeley HS 748, bound for Baguio, crashed into the slopes of Mt. Ugo while attempting to land in a monsoon, killing all 50 people on board. A Philippine Air Force Bell UH-1 Huey was lost during recovery operations of that crash.[6]
  • A Philippine Air Force Cessna T-41 crashed right after takeoff on May 25, 2005. All four airmen died.[7]
  • On April 7, 2009, a Bell 412 presidential helicopter owned by the Philippine Air Force carrying eight key aides of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo crashed into the slopes of Mount Pulag in Tinoc, Ifugao while en route to Lagawe, the provincial capital of Ifugao, after attempting to return to Loakan Airport due to bad weather. Mount Pulag is over 50 km away from Loakan Airport. All on board the chopper died and Malacañang mourned their deaths. The key aides were checking the area for a planned visit by President Arroyo to inspect a mountain road project. Because of the disaster, she cancelled her trip. U.S. officials dispatched CH-46 Sea Knights to find the downed chopper.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. "Passenger Statistics 2014". July 23, 2015. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  2. Cabrega, Vincent. "In new plan, Baguio airport likely to take off again". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2013-11-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Baguio eyes commercial operation of Loakan airport". The Philippine Star. January 8, 2020.
  5. "Baguio Airport". Tonetcarlo.wordpress.com. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  6. "Mt. Ugo Mountaineering". Pinoymountaineer.com. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  7. "Baguio plane crash kills future combat pilots". Nordis Weekly. May 29, 2005. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  8. "Missing govt chopper supposed to return due to bad weather". Archived from the original on April 12, 2009.
  9. "NETWORK - SUNSTAR". SunStar. Archived from the original on April 10, 2009.


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