Mayor says ‘open skies’ will boost Baguio tourism

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan here said an open skies policy will increase the city’s chances of inviting more airlines to service the Manila-Baguio-Manila route and cater to needs of high-end tourists who want to take a breather in the country’s Summer Capital.

According to the local chief executive, public infrastructure in the city geared to enhancing its tourism potentials are now in place although there is need to improve the same.

Domogan said only regular air service is needed to complete the full tourism package for Baguio as a prime foreign tourist destination.

He said a disadvantage in spending a vacation in the city is the long travel time from Metro Manila to Baguio which is approximately four to five hours by land, thus, high end tourists are thinking twice of spending their vacation in the city.

Once airline service will be available in the city, Domogan said vibrant local tourism industry will continue to flourish and invite more foreign tourists who are willing to spend while visiting its scenic spots and enjoying its cool and romantic weather.

Air travel from Manila to Baguio takes at least one hour which is convenient for the high end tourists wanting to visit the country’s Summer Capital.

Last year, Sky Pasada, a local airline company, tried to service the Isabela, Manila-Baguio flights but ceased operation because of an advisory from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines on the need to upgrade its fleet of planes.

Since then, the airline company never resumed operations after committing that their airline services will resume by the end of last year.

Domogan said the city government and local tourism stakeholders are now trying their best to convince airline companies to service the Manila-Baguio-Manila route.

While there were airline companies who earlier signified their intention to service the said route, their plans are always overtaken by events, thus, the city has no airline service over the past four years.

The city mayor added airlines utilizing the Loakan airport are chartered which indicates that the route is viable for airlines interested to service it.

Small aircrafts have a difficulty landing on the Loakan airport, especially during the rainy season and late afternoons since clouds usually create zero visibility thereby making it dangerous for aircrafts to land on the airport.

Earlier, Japanese experts recommended upgrading of the Loakan airport from a visual landing flight regulated to instrument landing flight regulated so it could service aircrafts wanting to land on the airport even during bad weather.

However, such proposal was never been considered for funding by concerned government agencies even though foreign funding was signified by international organizations.