The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) had announced that they had decided to push back the transfer of the gateway to Northern Mindanao from the old Lumbia Airport in Cagayan De Oro to the new Laguindingan Airport by one-and-half months to June 15, 2013 to avoid disrupting passenger’s travel plans over the summer.
The department had conducted a walk-through at the Laguindingan Airport and was pleased with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines‘ preparations for the intended April 30 opening. The CAAP received requests from airline companies to postpone the transfer to until the summer peak season because the opening will require cancellation of several trips.
According to airline companies, the representatives were encountering difficulties in reaching substantial number of passengers who already purchased tickets for flights from April to May in informing them of changes in their flight itineraries.
“The postponement will give the airlines ample time to inform their customers of their new flight schedules at Laguindingan Airport. This will lessen the possibility of disrupting travel plans and causing inconvenience to the riding public,” added the DOTC. The Laguindingan Airport is a key infrastructure project which is crucial to unlocking the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Corridor to more tourism- and agriculture-oriented activities. The government has previously announced that it will be temporarily operated by CAAP using Visual Flight Rules (VFR) until its air navigation equipment is fully in place by May 2014. (Source: Press Release)
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