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Morning flights resumed on August 19 at Cotabato Airport in Maguindanao after critical runway repair works were partially completed
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Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines commercial flights remain suspended
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Flights take off and land from 7am to 11:59am daily, and works resume for the rest of the day until the repair job is 100% done
Cotabato Airport in Maguindanao resumed morning flight operations on August 19 after critical runway repair works were partially completed.
Commercial flights of Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines (PAL) will remain suspended in view of the ongoing repair work on the runway. PAL in an advisory on August 19 said domestic flights to and from Cotabato City will remain suspended until September 27.
Cebu Pacific said on August 11 it is suspending flights until further notice.
Since August 19, flights have been landing and taking off from 7am to 11:59am daily. Works resume at midday, with the pattern to continue until the repairs are 100% done. Once the project is completed, the airport’s normal operating hours will resume, the Department of Transportation said in a statement.
The partial resumption of flights came after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and its contractor partially completed the asphalt overlay works on August 17 so that the airport could begin accommodating commercial flights starting August 19.
Flight operations were suspended on June 21 after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) issued a Notice to Airmen that prohibited take-off and landing at Runway 28 to expedite the repair works. PAL and Cebu Pacific cancelled their flights at the airport starting June 22.
DOTr has disbursed P340.55 million to DPWH for the asphalt overlay of the Cotabato Airport runway.
The P45.54 million expansion of the passenger terminal building at Cotabato Airport is expected to be completed by August 30. The expansion will increase the airport’s capacity to 360 passengers at any given time from the previous capacity of 250 passengers.
Cotabato airport is located in Barangay Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. The facility is serving the general area of Cotabato City and municipalities near Datu Odin Sinsuat. The airport is managed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communication of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
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