Bohol–Panglao International Airport

Bohol–Panglao International Airport[lower-alpha 1] (IATA: TAG, ICAO: RPSP), also known as New Bohol International Airport, is an international airport on Panglao Island in the province of Bohol, Philippines. The airport opened on November 28, 2018 after decades of planning and three years of construction, replacing Tagbilaran Airport to support Bohol's increased passenger traffic due to tourism.[4] The airport serves as the gateway to Tagbilaran and the rest of mainland Bohol for domestic air travellers. It also is less than an hour's flight from Mactan–Cebu International Airport, which is a gateway to central Philippines for international tourists.

Bohol–Panglao International Airport

Tugpahanang Pangkalibutanon sa Bohol–Panglao
Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Bohol–Panglao
Exterior of the airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorCivil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
ServesTagbilaran, Bohol
LocationPanglao, Bohol, Philippines
OpenedNovember 28, 2018 (2018-11-28)[2]
Time zonePHT (UTC+08:00)
Elevation AMSL13 m / 42 ft
Coordinates9°34′N 123°46.5′E
Map
TAG/RPSP is located in Philippines
TAG/RPSP
TAG/RPSP
Location in the Philippines
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers1,199,283
Increase 382.42%
Aircraft movements8,082
Increase 84.94%
Cargo (in kg)3,513,730
Increase 3.43%
Source: CAAP[3]

Dubbed as the first eco-airport in the Philippines and the country's green gateway, the airport is located at a 230-hectare (570-acre)[5] site in Barangay Tawala in Panglao.

While the airport is billed as an international airport – with Jeju Air, Asiana Airlines and Air Busan being its sole international airlines – it is classified as Class 1 principal domestic airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.[6]

History

Planning and funding

The first feasibility study of the airport was conducted in 2000 during the Estrada administration.[7] On September 4, 2012, President Benigno Aquino III, head of the NEDA Board of the Philippines, approved a resolution giving the green light for the construction of the airport.[8] The proposed airport was to be funded through Official Development Assistance (ODA) instead of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), an infrastructure-building program of the government of the Philippines wherein the private sector may participate in any of the schemes authorized by its build-operate-transfer law.

On March 27, 2013, the Japan International Cooperation Agency signed an agreement with the Republic of the Philippines to build the Bohol–Panglao International Airport at 10.78 billion yen under the project name New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environment Protection Project. The signing signaled the roll out for the construction of a new airport in the province of Bohol at an island adjacent to Tagbilaran Airport.[9] Despite the location of the airport, which is just outside of Tagbilaran, it adapted the IATA code: TAG from the old airport, which was located in the heart of Tagbilaran.

Construction

Initially, the airport's cost was pegged at ₱4.8 billion pesos to build[10] but was later increased.

On June 9, 2014, six Japanese firms submitted bids for construction of the proposed airport at a cost of ₱7.14 billion to be funded from official development assistance (ODA) loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.[11] On December 15, the Department of Transportation and Communications started its search for bidders to bid out for the operations and maintenance (and future extension) of the airport under a concession model.[12]

Construction of the airport started on June 22, 2015[13] following the selection of Japanese Airport Consultants (JAC) for the design and consultancy work on the project, and the consortium of Chiyoda Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation as the prime contractor for the construction of the project.[14][15]

In its initial plan, the project was expected to finish in 2016, but the opening was delayed. Prior to the 2018 opening, the airport was slated to be completed by 2021.[4]

Opening

Philippines AirAsia operated a special flight using its Airbus A320 to the new airport, becoming the first airline to land at the airport hours before its inauguration on November 27, 2018.[16] The airport was then inaugurated by then President Rodrigo Duterte on the same day.[4] The first commercial flight to land was Cebu Pacific Flight 619, an Airbus A320 from Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, which landed at past 7:30 a.m. PST the following day.[1]

The first international flight to land at the airport was a chartered Royal Air Philippines A320 flight from Hong Kong International Airport at 4:45 p.m. PST on September 30, 2019.[17] Meanwhile, Jeju Air Flight 4407, a Boeing 737-800 from Incheon International Airport, landed as the first commercial international flight at the airport on November 21 at 11:28 a.m. PST.[18]

Structures and facilities
Aerial view of Bohol–Panglao International Airport.

Runway

The airport has a 2,500-meter (8,200 ft) asphalt runway that runs in a 030°/210° direction. Taxiways E3 and E4 serve as access to the apron from the runway. During construction, the runway was planned to be 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) long,[13] later extended to 2,500 meters (8,200 ft).[5] The runway is planned to be extended to 2,800 meters (9,200 ft).[14]

To make the airport capable of night operations, an instrument landing system and other navigational equipment were installed in 2019.[19]

Terminal and apron
A Cebu Pacific Airbus A321 at night.

The airport has a two-level[5] passenger terminal building with an area of 13,337 square meters (143,560 sq ft), designed to accommodate two million passengers annually.[20] During construction, the original plan was to construct a single level for the terminal. In 2016, the Bohol provincial government pushed for a plan to install jet bridges to provide easier access to the airport,[13] hence, a second level was constructed. There are three jet bridges installed at the airport. The terminal also sports a wave roof design inspired by the Chocolate Hills.[14]

The airport uses natural ventilation and solar power for one-third of its power supply.[1]

The concrete apron features a total of four parking bays for wide-body aircraft as large as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 or a maximum of seven parking bays for narrow-body aircraft like the Airbus A320 and A321.[14]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
AirSWIFT El Nido
Air Busan Seoul–Incheon
Cebu Pacific Davao, Manila
Jeju Air Busan (begins October 30, 2023),[21] Seoul–Incheon
PAL Express Davao, Manila
Philippines AirAsia Manila
Royhle Air Way Charter: Dumaguete[22]

Statistics

Data from Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).[23][24][25][3]

Year Passenger movements Aircraft movements Cargo movements (in kg)
DomesticInternationalTotal % change DomesticInternationalTotal % change DomesticInternationalTotal % change
2018[lower-alpha 2] 90,7087,28797,995Steady89280972Steady695,50063,078758,578Steady
2019 1,305,77928,1591,333,938Increase 1,261.2312,02423712,261Increase 1,161.426,188,171181,6336,369,804Increase 739.70
2020 288,55819,712308,270Decrease 76.894,3521584,510Decrease 63.222,474,981—2,474,981Decrease 61.15
2021 248,5960248,596Decrease 19.364,37004,370Decrease 3.103,397,18603,397,186Increase 37.26
2022 1,143,54355,7401,199,283Increase 382.427,7003828,082Increase 84.943,513,730—3,513,730Increase 3.43

An em dash (—) is used when data from CAAP is not available.

See also

Notes
  1. Cebuano: Tugpahanang Pangkalibutanon sa Bohol–Panglao, Filipino: Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Bohol–Panglao
  2. Data for December 1–31, 2018.

References
  1. "Local carriers migrate all Bohol flights to '1st eco-airport' Panglao". BusinessMirror. November 28, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  2. Rey, Aika (November 27, 2018). "Tagbilaran Airport to be closed, all flights moving to Bohol-Panglao". Rappler. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  3. Aircraft, Passenger, Cargo Movements 2021 (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Report). Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  4. Rey, Aika (November 27, 2018). "Duterte Inaugurates Bohol-Panglao International Airport". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  5. "Bohol Panglao International Airport runway completed". Bohol Chronicle. November 26, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  6. "CAAP Airport Directory" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. February 7, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  7. Atienza, Jose (June 10, 2021). "Missing Context: Bohol-Panglao Airport Made Possible with 'Build, Build, Build'". Rappler. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  8. Cheng, Willard (September 4, 2012). "NEDA Board Approves Line 2 Extension, Airport Projects". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  9. "Signing of Japanese ODA Loan Agreement with the Republic of the Philippines" (Press release). Japan International Cooperation Agency. March 27, 2013. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  10. Bayos, Kris (December 5, 2013). "P4.8-B New Panglao Airport Open to Japanese Contractors". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  11. Agcaoili, Lawrence (December 16, 2014). "DOTC Rolls out P116.2-B Bundled Contract for 6 Airports". Philstar. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  12. Bayos, Kris (June 10, 2014). "6 Japanese Groups Bid for Bohol Airport Project". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  13. Visarra, Chito M. (May 22, 2016). "New Airport needs runway extension and bay bridge". Bohol Chronicle. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  14. "Bohol-Panglao International Airport, Panglao Island, Bohol Province". Airport Technology. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  15. "Panglao Airport Ready by Aug '18". Public-Private Partnership Center. November 9, 2017. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  16. Merez, Arianne (November 27, 2018). "AirAsia is first to land on New Bohol Airport ahead of formal opening". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  17. De Vera, Ellalyn; Noriega, Richa (October 2, 2019). "Panglao airport welcomes new airline". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  18. "Jeju Air lands maiden flight at Panglao airport". Bohol Chronicle. November 21, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  19. "Bohol-Panglao Airport to start night flights with new navi system". Philippine News Agency. September 4, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  20. Merez, Arianne (November 27, 2018). "IN PHOTOS: Inside the New Bohol Airport, PH's first 'eco-terminal'". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  21. "Jeju Air NW23 Busan / Muan Network Expansion". AeroRoutes. October 26, 2023.
  22. "Royhle Air Way Charter". Royhle Flight Training Academy. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  23. Aircraft, Passenger, Cargo Movements 2018 (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Report). Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  24. Aircraft, Passenger, Cargo Movements 2019 (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Report). Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  25. Aircraft, Passenger, Cargo Movements 2020 (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Report). Retrieved August 19, 2022.
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