Iloilo airport ready to serve anytime – ATO

PIA Press Release 2007/05/15

Iloilo airport ready to serve anytime – ATO

by ES Subong

Iloilo City (15 May) -- Air Transportation Office (ATO) Area Manager Mr. Alan Java said the new Iloilo Airport is ready to serve the public anytime it is declared open by the government.

Java said his office has already prepared facilities, equipment and personnel for the new airport to render efficient public service and maximum security for its users.

He added that most of the records have been transferred, personnel trained both here and abroad to upgrade their skills and know-how in the operation of the airport of international standards.

Mr. Java also said that the ATO and the DOTC, together with their partner agencies, like the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the Department of Tourism (DOT), and the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB), have formulated a transport system by giving accreditations to franchise holders that are authorized to ply the route and designated transport points in the surrounding towns and in Iloilo City.

There are metered taxis duly accredited with passes, drivers appropriately oriented, as well as jeepneys distinctly designed, painted for tourism and security purposes.

Mr. Java said that they have opened jeepney routes to local investors and entrepreneurs for them to operate in certain routes covering the Sta. Barbara and Cabatuan areas.

As a priority development project of the Arroyo Administration, Java said the airport would greatly benefit the public in general as this will cater to the increasing number of passenger and cargo traffic which the present old airport could hardly accommodate.

The new airport is a modern, state-of-the art 188-hectare complex, located in the municipalities of Cabatuan and Sta. Barbara, about 20 kilometers away from the old airport. It can handle about 1.2 million passengers and 11,500 tons of cargo per year. It can accommodate aircraft as big as Airbus 330 with a seating capacity of 276.

As the Ilonggos await the opening of the new airport, Mr. Java said that the people themselves should be generally cooperative and supportive, and learn to accept the changes that this development project brings. (PIA 6)



CABATUAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Cabatuan, Iloilo, Philippines

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