Bacolod–Silay Airport

Bacolod–Silay Airport
Hulugpaan sang Bacolod–Silay
Paliparan ng Bacolod–Silay
Airport exterior
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
Serves Metro Bacolod and Negros Island Region
Location Barangay Bagtic, Silay City, Negros Occidental
Coordinates 10°46′35″N 123°00′55″E / 10.77639°N 123.01528°E / 10.77639; 123.01528Coordinates: 10°46′35″N 123°00′55″E / 10.77639°N 123.01528°E / 10.77639; 123.01528
Website www.bacolodsilay.com
Map
BCD/RPVB
Location in the Philippines
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 2,000 6,562 Concrete
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 1,579,199
Aircraft movements 22,275
Cargo (in kg) 15,266,797
Source: Statistics from eFOI[1]

Bacolod–Silay Airport[2][3] (Hiligaynon: Hulugpaan sang Bacolod–Silay; Cebuano: Tugpahanan sa Bacolod–Silay; Filipino: Paliparan ng Bacolod–Silay) (IATA: BCD, ICAO: RPVB) is the main airport serving the general area of Metro Bacolod, in the Negros Island Region of the Philippines.

The airport is located 15 kilometers northeast of Bacolod on a 181-hectare site in Barangay Bagtic, Silay, Negros Occidental.[4] The facility inherited its IATA and ICAO airport codes from the Bacolod City Domestic Airport, which it replaced in 2008. Capable of handling international air traffic, the airport is the busier of the two major airports serving Negros Island, the other being Dumaguete Airport in Sibulan, Negros Oriental.

The Bacolod–Silay Airport is designated as a Principal-Class 1 Domestic Airport[3] by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, a body of the Department of Transportation that is responsible for the operations of not only this airport but also of all other public airports in the Philippines except the major international airports.

History

The airport's control tower

Planning for a new airport for Bacolod commenced in 1997, when the Japan International Cooperation Agency initiated a study indicating the need for expansion at four Philippine airports: namely Bacolod City Domestic Airport, Mandurriao Airport in Iloilo City, Legazpi Airport in Legazpi and Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban.[5]

In February 1999, another JICA study was commissioned, this time on the detailed plan of the new airport.[5] The study was completed by March 2000 and was funded by a 430 million-yen grant. Immediately after the completion of the study, JICA hired Pacific Consultants International as advisers to the project.[5]

The project was opened for bidding on 25 August 2003, with the winning bid going to the Takenaka–Itochu Joint Venture (TIJV).[5] Physical construction on the new 4.3 billion-peso airport,[4] funded in part by an 8.2 billion yen loan, commenced in August 2004. A 900-day deadline was imposed for the airport to be completed,[5] which broadly corresponded to January 2007.

On 13 July 2007 President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo attended the facility's inauguration[6] The airport was considered complete by 16 July 2007, but there was "considerable debate" over whether the airport should be opened for regular commercial traffic due to the 500-meter runway extension, necessary for accommodating larger aircraft, not having been built by that time.[7]

Immigration and customs desks inside the airport

The first aircraft ever to land at the airport was a small fourteen-seater turboprop owned by Vincent Aviation. The Reims-Cessna F406 with aircraft registration number ZK-VA, piloted by Steve Gray of New Zealand landed at the airport at 9:55 a.m., 26 September 2007.[8]

The airport commenced regular commercial operations and was officially opened on 18 January 2008.[8] The first commercial flight to arrive was Cebu Pacific's Flight 5J 473 from Manila, an Airbus A319-100 piloted by Silay native Captain Allan Garces which landed at 5:22 a.m. PST on the day of opening.[8] The first international flight to arrive at the airport was a chartered plane from Almaty, Kazakhstan which landed at 10:58 a.m. on 2 January 2009 carrying eight passengers and eight crew members.[9][10]

Zest Air chartered international flights to and from Incheon using Airbus A320 from 7 January to 22 February 2012, and also used to serve the route seasonally for South Korean golfers.[11] Currently this seasonal route is operated by Philippine Airlines, utilizing Airbus A321, offering the flights to non-golfers and the local flying public.

By late 2014 the airport has been equipped with Customs, Immigration and Quarantine booths in preparation for the increase in international arrivals.[12] Since October 2015 the Bureau of Immigration has also indicated readiness to deploy personnel at the airport should regularly scheduled international flights commence,[13] but as of 2017, there are no regularly scheduled international flights operating to and from the airport.

Structure

Runway

The Bacolod–Silay Airport has one primary runway, which is 45 meters (148 ft) wide and 2,002 meters (6,568 ft) long. The runway runs in a direction of 03°/21°, and can currently handle aircraft as large as the Airbus A330.[14] Provisions for a 500-meter (1,600 ft) expansion of the present runway in order to accommodate even larger aircraft were confirmed on 23 May 2009, when it was reported that the budget for the construction of the 500-meter extension of the runway has been approved by the Philippine government and bidding and construction was slated to start in the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2009, but it has not been expanded yet.[15]

The airport is equipped with an instrument landing system (ILS), making it capable of handling night and low-visibility landings.

Passenger terminal

The airport terminal building.

The entire airport complex is designed to handle an excess of one million passengers and 16,715 tons of cargo annually[5] and consists of 21 buildings with a total floor space of 10,075 square meters (108,450 sq ft).[5]

The largest building in the complex is the 6,187-square-meter (66,600 sq ft) main passenger terminal with three levels.[5] The ground floor holds the check-in counters, the public concourse, the arrival area and the information counter. The second floor has the three pre-departure areas with their VIP and CIP lounges; these pre-departure areas lead out to three jet bridges over an apron that can handle up to five aircraft simultaneously. Philippine Airlines also operates a Mabuhay Lounge for the use of its business class passengers on the second floor. Also on the second floor are Merci Pasalubong Shop and Bong-Bong's Pasalubong Shop, occupying the spot of the former Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines office since transferred to the Administration Building. On the third floor is the viewing deck with a concession area and rooms for maintenance and airport machinery.[14]

The state-of-the-art main passenger terminal is equipped with a flight information display system, mechanized baggage handling systems for both inbound and outbound baggage, numerous security X-ray machines, and elevators and escalators.[14] Outside the main terminal is parking for 350 cars.[5]

Statistics

Data from Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines[1]

Passenger movements

YearDomesticChange
2003 522,395Steady
2004 574,125Increase 9.90%
2005 563,571Decrease 1.84%
2006 665,144Increase 18.02%
2007 785,931Increase 18.16%
2008 843,488Increase 7.32%
2009 1,050,429Increase 24.53%
2010 1,223,491Increase 16.48%
2011 1,349,442Increase 10.29%
2012 1,018,417Decrease 24.53%
2013 1,768,803Increase 73.68%
2014 1,317,841Decrease 25.50%
2015 1,642,391Increase 24.63%
2016 1,498,741Decrease 8.75%
2017 1,579,199Increase 5.37%

Aircraft movements

YearDomesticChange
2003 6,680Steady
2004 7,964Increase 19.22%
2005 6,994Decrease 12.18%
2006 6,922Decrease 1.03%
2007 9,866Increase 42.53%
2008 9,860Decrease 0.06%
2009 6,129Decrease 37.84%
2010 9,677Increase 57.89%
2011 7,860Decrease 18.78%
2012 11,794Increase 50.05%
2013 21,326Increase 80.82%
2014 13,756Decrease 35.50%
2015 18,460Increase 34.20%
2016 18,946Increase 2.63%
2017 22,275Increase 17.57%

Cargo movements

YearDomestic (in kg)Change
2003 6,418,448Steady
2004 7,131,811Increase 11.11%
2005 7,021,007Decrease 1.55%
2006 7,908,885Increase 12.65%
2007 8,289,586Increase 4.81%
2008 8,244,579Decrease 0.54%
2009 11,688,406Increase 41.77%
2010 12,502,755Increase 6.97%
2011 13,667,720Increase 9.32%
2012 8,367,821Decrease 38.78%
2013 10,684,186Increase 27.68%
2014 11,091,730Increase 3.81%
2015 15,710,450Increase 41.64%
2016 16,533,566Increase 5.24%
2017 15,266,797Decrease 7.66%

Ground transportation

Airport transportation is accessible to passengers travelling in or out of the airport from Bacolod. There are multiple Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) that offer shuttle services. There are also tricycles outside the airport that provide transportation to nearby destinations in Silay. The new access road connecting the airport and Bacolod is completed and is now accessible to vehicles. It connects to Brgy. Bata in Bacolod.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

An Airphil Express Airbus A320 at Bacolod–Silay Airport
Tigerair Airbus A319 approaching Bacolod–Silay Airport
AirlinesDestinations
Cebu Pacific Davao, Manila
Cebu Pacific
operated by Cebgo 		Cagayan de Oro, Cebu
Philippine Airlines Clark

Seasonal: Seoul Incheon [16]

Philippine Airlines
operated by PAL Express 		Cebu, Manila

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (23 July 2018). "Yearly Passenger, Cargo and Aircraft Movements of all airports in the Philippines 1997–2017". Republic of the Philippines – Freedom of Information Portal. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "Bacolod Airport Operations, Maintenance & Development Project". Public-Private Partnership Center, Republic of the Philippines. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 "CAAP Airport Directory". Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. August 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  4. 1 2 Hibionada, Florence F. (4 December 2007). "Turn over of P4.3M Bacolod–Silay airport to DOTC today". The News Today. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Bacolod Airport (BCD), Negros Island, Philippines, Airport Technology, retrieved 4 August 2007
  6. ↑ Philippine News Agency (5 July 2007). "PGMA to inaugurate new Bacolod-Silay Airport on July 13". The News Today. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  7. ↑ Gomez, Carla (14 July 2007). "GMA: Silay airport ready, debate delaying opening". The Visayan Daily Star. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 "Silay City – Welcome to the Front Page". Silay City Official Government Website. 18 January 2008. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Espina, Rolly (6 January 2009). "New Year's flight from Kazakhstan in Silay Airport". Philstar.com. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  10. ↑ "International Plane that landed in Silay Airport". Bacolod Beat. 3 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  11. ↑ Gomez, Carla (7 December 2011). "NEWSBRIEFS". Inquirer.net. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Philippine News Agency (27 October 2014). "Bacolod-Silay Airport prepares for international flights". Business Mirror. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  13. ↑ Ellera, Teresa D. (1 October 2015). "BI set to deploy personnel, equipment at Silay Airport". SunStar Bacolod. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 "New Bacolod–Silay airport opened". Inquirer.net. 18 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  15. ↑ Gomez, Carla (23 May 2009). "P300M for Bacolod runway approved". Inquirer.net. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  16. ↑ https://www.philippineairlines.com/TravelInformation/FlightTimetable?scController=FlightTimetable&scAction=FlightTimetable&origin=CRK&destination=BCD
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