With permanent extended hours of operation at the Dumaguete-Sibulan airport in Negros Oriental, more domestic flights are expected here this year.
Mark Michael Diamaoden, OIC airport manager and head of the local office of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, disclosed Wednesday that Cebu Pacific is looking at increasing their flights to Dumaguete.
Diamaoden said he learned of this recently in a talk with some Cebu Pacific officials.
Currently, two commercial airlines are plying the Dumaguete route, namely, Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines Express.
The CAAP had approved last month extending the hours of operation of the Dumaguete airport from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., thus allowing night flights when necessary.
It can also now accommodate additional flights with the extended hours of operations, the airport OIC said.
Meanwhile, records at the local CAAP office showed that from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31 last year, a total of 4,152 domestic flights, 4,331 general aviation flights, and 104 military flights were recorded at the Dumaguete-Sibulan airport.
Diamaoden explained domestic flights included the commercial airlines flying to and from Manila and also to and from Cebu, while general aviation flights included other aircraft like chartered flights, flying school planes and even private helicopters.
Military flights included helicopters and other aircraft that had visited the airport here in the past year, whether on training or in transit.
For the entire 2016, CAAP flight statistics showed a total of 545,171 domestic passengers, 623 general aviation passengers, and two military passengers.
Diamaoden has reiterated the need to immediately undertake the proposed lighting project of the airport’s vehicle parking space to provide security and safety to airport users especially at night or at daybreak. (PNA/JFP)