P-Noy urged to re-open Baguio Loakan Airport

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio  petitioned President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III to re-open Loakan Airport here for commercial traffic boost tourism and allow the Summer Capital to host bigger international activities.

In their letter addressed to the President, the HRAB said “there is no doubt in our minds that we can only expect serious consideration as a named destination if it can be seen that efforts are underway to commence re-opening of our airport.”

            

The letter to the President came after Baguio City was not included in the list of nine cities which will be visited by delegates of the 21-nation Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) when the Philippines will host the APEC meeting in November 2014.

            

The group said accessibility of Baguio was essential to  success of the APEC meeting as major catalyst of the city’s economic growth.

            

Aside from requesting the President to initiate re-opening of the airport, the HRAB also urged the city government to enact resolutions that will re-opening the airport.

            

The group urged national and local governments to assess the airport’s facilities and services to ensure it passes accepted Federal Aviation Authority and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines standards.

            

HRAB also proposed immediate implementation of required upgrade and rehabilitation plans, to include improvement of the airport’s safety and security standards, taking into consideration the concerns and needs of the residents of the adjoining communities and conduct appropriate consultations.

            

HRAB urged the city government to submit a competitive bid as one of the host cities for the 2014 APEC Summit in recognition of the fact that it will allow the city access to markets in Asia and the Pacific with unprecedented opportunities for investment and trade.

            

The APEC delegates will be touring and holdings meetings in selected cities around the country up to 2015 and nine cities were identified as their prospective destination, namely, Manila, Clark, Subic, Boracay, Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod and Tagaytay.