Laguindingan airport in Mindanao ‘safer’ – Aquino

Rappler.com

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The flat terrain of Laguindingan Airport makes it a safer gateway to northern Mindanao than the current Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City

NEW GATEWAY. Newly built Laguindingan airport replaces the old airports in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities. Photo by Giano Ligot

MANILA, Philippines – Airlines and passengers flying into or out of the newly built Laguindingan Airport are assured of a crucial factor in travel: safety.

President Benigno Aquino III, who joined the final inspection of the new gateway in northern Mindanao on June 11, touted the P7.85 billion facility’s geographical location and compared it to Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City about an hour away. 

“It is the opinion of stakeholders — including the airlines who tested the flights coming into Laguindingan airport — and who met with Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Director General William Hotchkiss that Laguindingan is safer than Lumbia Airport. Laguindingan is in a flat area, safer than Lumbia because of the terrain,” the president said.

“The Lumbia Airport is elevated and next to ridges, making it risky for airlines during approach and take off,” he added during an interview with reporters after he unveiled the marker at the new airport.

Aside from the terrain, Aquino also highlighted that weather disturbances are more manageable at the Laguindingan airport, even if the air navigation equipment called Instrument Landing System (ILS) is yet to be installed by May 2014.

The CAAP would temporarily operate the airport using Visual Flight Rules (VFR).

“Lumbia is more affected by weather disturbances. The endpoint is — and I have kept on repeating this — Laguindingan, even without the navigational aids, is safer than Lumbia with the ILS system. We are trying to expedite that process (acquisition of ILS) to put all of these aids in place sooner than that,” Aquino said.

Laguindingan Airport is about an hour away from the City Center of Cagayan de Oro. It will replace Lumbia Airport and the smaller airport in Iligan City.

The transfer of the main gateway to northern Mindanao from Lumbia to Laguindingan project was first conceptualized in 1991.

It is the first airport to open under the Aquino administration, which has lined up several airport projects to be auctioned off to boost tourism and trade.

Laguindingan Airport was one of 17 projects identified by the DOTC as ready for rollout to private investors– Rappler.com

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