Manila, Philippines – The Department of Transportation
and Communications (DOTC) today announced that it has decided to push back the
transfer of the gateway to Northern Mindanao from the old Lumbia Airport in
Cagayan de Oro City to the new P 7.8-Billion Laguindingan Airport by
one-and-a-half months to June 15, 2013, in order to avoid disrupting passengers’
travel plans over the summer.
The Transport
Department has conducted a walk-through at the Laguindingan Airport and was
very pleased with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP)
preparations for the intended April 30 opening.
However, CAAP has received requests from airline companies to postpone
the transfer until after the summer peak season, because the April 30 opening
would require the cancellation of several daily trips.
According to
the airline companies, their representatives were encountering difficulties in
reaching a substantial number of passengers who had already purchased tickets
for flights in April and May, to inform them of changes in their flight
itineraries.
“It is in the
best interest of the government and of the airlines to deliver safe and
convenient services to the public,” said the DOTC. “As we took stock of the
assessment of both CAAP and the airline companies that the Laguindingan Airport
is already a safer alternative to the Lumbia Airport, we again listen to their
inputs saying that postponing the transfer will be better for passenger
convenience.”
“The
postponement will give the airlines ample time to inform their customers of
their new flight schedules at Laguindingan Airport. This will lessen the possibility of
disrupting travel plans and causing inconvenience to the riding public,” added
the DOTC.
The airlines
which operate at Cagayan de Oro are Cebu Pacific Air, Philippine Airlines, PAL
Express, and Zest Air. They serve a
combined total average of over 2,000 passengers daily.
The
Laguindingan Airport is a key infrastructure project which is crucial to
unlocking the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Corridor to more tourism- and
agriculture-oriented activities.
The
government has previously announced that it will be temporarily operated by
CAAP using Visual Flight Rules (VFR) until its air navigation equipment is fully
in place by May 2014.
Visit here: http://www.dotc.gov.ph/
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