Panglao International Airport

The PHP8.9 billion (US$169 million) Bohol–Panglao International Airport (also known as New Bohol International Airport), on a 216-hectare area in Panglao Island, serves as the gateway to Tagbilaran and the rest of mainland Bohol for domestic air travelers, replacing Tagbilaran Airport (which is 10 times smaller), to support Bohol’s increased passenger traffic due to tourism.

This airport is officially classified as the international airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and though Philippine Airlines ended its Tagbilaran-Seoul flights on February 9, 2019, it welcomed the twice weekly (Mondays and Fridays) Royal Air Philippines’ Hong Kong-Bohol-Hong Kong flights which started last September 30.

Covered area in front of the terminal building

Bohol’s new international airport was partially funded with PHP5.862 billion (US$123.5 million, about 79% of its total project cost) by an official development assistance (ODA) loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with the remaining amount coming from the general appropriations fund of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTr). JICA also  provided JPY4.37 billion ($38.96 million) for the second phase of the airport project.

The airport apron

A Japanese consortium of Chiyoda Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation was the prime contractor for the project. EEI Corporation, the sub-contracting partner, handled the civil works while the design and consultancy work on the projectwas awarded to Japan Airport Consultants (JAC) in association with Phil JAC.

The airport was inaugurated on November 27, 2018. After the DoTr upgraded the airport’s navigational equipment to allow it to handle planes landing at night, the Bohol gateway began operating flights up to 10 p.m. on September 1, 2019.

Passenger boarding bridge

The BPIA (IATA code: TAG) has a 2.8 km. (9,184 ft.) long asphalt runway with a width of 45 m. (147.6 ft.) and running in a 03/21 direction. It has a 55,585 sq. m. concrete apron that features four parking bays for aircraft as large as the Airbus A330 or a maximum of seven parking bays for narrow bodied aircraft and is flanked by two taxiways which allows 10 takeoffs and landings per hour.

Bridge

Currently, the airport’s parking tarmac can hold, at a time, up to seven Airbus A321 aircraft or four Airbus A330 or Boeing 777 aircraft, enough to handle the deluge of foreign and local travelers even during peak seasons. The airport also has enough space to build another terminal in case expansion is needed in the future plus the runway could also still be extended up to 3.2 kms., making it possible to accommodate as many as 3.4 million passengers annually.

Baggage handling conveyor belt

The airport, dubbed as the first eco-airport in the Philippines and the country’s green gateway, boasts of environment-friendly features with advanced Japanese technology such as:

• A photo voltaic power generation system set-up that aims to eventually power all of the airport’s energy requirements
• A rainwater catchment mechanism that would utilize the abundant rainwater that the province gets for various uses
• A sewerage disposal system that is at par with those often found in eco-conscious Scandinavian nations
• An energy-efficient air-conditioning system, powered by solar energy, is available only in the pre-departure area.  The airport’s primarily uses  natural ventilation.
• Geotextile sheets are used in the soaking yard to avoid the drainage water from seeping into the surroundings.
• Energy-saving features integrated in the airport’s design include installation of LED lights, natural lights and ventilation for most public areas.

The single-level passenger terminal, spread over 8,500 sq. m., has a multi-curved roof that appears to be floating over the building and takes inspiration from the rolling Chocolate Hills, one of the province’s famous landmarks. The external 1,958 sq. m. covered area in front of the terminal building is dedicated for sending off and welcoming passengers’ relatives.

This new international airport can annually accommodate 2,000,000 passengers, more than double the 800,000 capacity of the decommissioned Tagbilaran Airport (the provincial government is eyeing to manage the 26-hectare property and convert it into an information technology hub or a commercial park).

BPIA’s location also makes it ideal to divert aircraft bound for Cebu (it is only 90 kms. away, way nearer than Manila or Clark, which are 600 and 700 kms. away, respectively) in case the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, a gateway to the Central Philippines for international tourists, in Mactan is closed due to unfortunate circumstances. Panglao is also accessible by fast craft from Cebu City.

Bohol–Panglao International Airport: Panglao; 6340 Bohol. Mobile number: (0936) 277-9019.