Expanded Tacloban airport terminal opens March 16

TACLOBAN CITY, March 12  -- The expanded airport terminal building here will open Friday (March 16) in a bid to address congestion as the number of passengers continues to increase, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines field office here said on Monday.

CAAP Eastern Visayas Area Manager Danilo Abarreta said the PHP17-million project will add 240 seats to the existing 360-seater departure area and expand the check-in area.

Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade is expected to lead the opening rites.

“Our departure area is only designed for about 300 passengers, but there are times when the number of waiting passengers goes up to nearly 1,000. The problem of overcrowding is really serious,” Abarreta said.

The project began third quarter of 2017 as part of the PHP1.59 billion worth of projects meant to refurbish the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport in this city.

CAAP pushed for the implementation of the project less than two years after the PHP43.63-million reconstruction of the one-story terminal building that was badly damaged by super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

The official cited the need to improve the existing facility while waiting for the construction of a new terminal building nearby under the PHP721-million long-term development plan.

The DZR Airport, classified as Class 1 major domestic airport, is the main gateway from Manila and Cebu to the Eastern Visayas region.

The airport was named after former House of Representatives Speaker Daniel Z. Romualdez, an uncle of former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos.

The DZR Airport is one of the country’s busiest with 34 daily flights to and from Manila, Cebu, and Davao.

The airport in the regional capital was ranked as the country’s 9th busiest in 2016 with 1.1 million inbound and outbound passengers. It served more than 1.2 million passengers in 2017. (SQM/PNA)