MANILA – The Godofredo P. Ramos Airport, also known as Caticlan Airport, on Friday started aircraft operations of bigger variants like the Airbus A320 with a PALExpress flight from Manila making its inaugural touchdown on its newly expanded runway 06/24.
The newly constructed Nabas Apron at Caticlan Airport with nine parking bays will be opened for aircraft operations under the safety oversight of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). The airport’s runway 06/24 has a total length of 1,800 meters.
Previously, Caticlan airport could handle only turbo propeller aircraft, but with the improvements and expansion of its single runway and apron is expected to accommodate more passengers per flight with the larger aircraft.
PalExpress initially will operate two flights daily using an Airbus A320 while Cebu Pacific is expected to operate same aircraft variant tentatively on November 23, with AirAsia expected to follow soon.
TransAire Development Holdings Corp., a San Miguel Corp. (SMC) affiliate, developed the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport (Caticlan airport) under a build-operate-transfer scheme, and will operate the airport for 25 years based on the agreement with the national government.