THE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Siargao and Busuanga airports will be first in line for runway extensions to allow those destinations to accommodate larger aircraft.
CAAP Director General Raul L. del Rosario said:
“The design and feasibility studies for Siargao and Busuanga are ongoing.”
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar 2025 on Wednesday.
The detailed engineering design and feasibility studies for these expansions are ongoing, Mr. Del Rosario said.
CAAP said right-of-way challenges are among the obstacles being encountered in further pursuing these runway extensions, but environmental considerations are also at play.
“In Siargao, there are mangroves that will be affected,” Mr. Del Rosario said, noting that the CAAP is addressing these problems with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Mr. Del Rosario said CAAP is working on workarounds to move plans forward to allow takeoffs and landings by aircraft like the Airbus A320, one of the most widely used single-aisle jets in global airline fleets.
“If we can use larger jets, then we can carry more passengers and help lower airfares,” he said, noting that domestic airfares tend to be more expensive when routes are serviced by smaller turboprop planes.
“For Busuanga, there is just not enough space if you follow the original runway orientation. It needs to be reoriented. This will cause some delays but we want to prioritize it because of expected tourist arrivals,” he said.
Busuanga Airport, also known as the Francisco B. Reyes airport, is the gateway to Coron, Palawan.
The Department of Transportation has allotted P308.62 million for the extension and improvement of the Busuanga Airport runway. — Ashley Erika O. Jose