Francisco Bangoy International Airport


Francisco Bangoy International Airport, also known and still commonly referred to as Davao International Airport, is the main airport serving Davao City in the province of Davao del Sur and Davao Region in the Philippines. It is the busiest airport in the island of Mindanao and the third busiest in the Philippines after Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and Mactan–Cebu International Airport in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu. The airport has a single 3,000-meter precision runway.
A new terminal replaces the previous airport terminals, which lie just across it, in handling both domestic and international flights operating to and from Davao. The modern facility is designed to handle approximately 2 million passengers annually and 84,600 metric tons of cargo annually. The added capacity is also complemented by the latest navigational, security, and baggage handling equipment.
The modernization and upgrading of the airport facilities aims to make Davao as a hub for tourism and foreign investment in the region. Development was funded by a forty million-dollar loan from the Asian Development Bank, co-financed by the European Investment Bank for twenty-five million ECUs, and through budgetary allocations from the government. The total cost of the project amounted to $128 million.
After almost a decade, the new terminal was finally inaugurated on December 2, 2003. Initial construction began in 2000 while plans for construction were announced in 1992.
On November 12, 2007, Cebu Pacific announced this airport as its third hub.
Philippine Airlines, the country's flag carrier, announced this airport as its third hub on March 26, 2018.
The Republic Act 11457, also known as the Davao International Airport Authority charter, was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on August 30, 2019. This law creates and establishes the Davao International Airport Authority which will be handling all airports in Davao Region, including the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City.

History

Francisco Bangoy International Airport began operations in the 1940s with a donation of land in Barangay Sasa, located in the Buhangin district of Davao City, by Don Francisco Bangoy, the patriarch of an influential family who later served as the city's congressman. At the time it began operation, the airport merely consisted of a 1,200-meter unpaved grass runway and quonset huts serving as terminal buildings. At the time, and throughout much of the 1940s and 1950s, both Philippine Airlines and the Philippine Air Force provided air service to the city.
By 1959, the complex consisted of a small control tower and several low-rise buildings. Right of way and access to the terminal buildings and the airport was improved through further donation of land by Paciano Bangoy during the latter stages of his gubernatorial term. A new terminal designed by Filipino architect Leandro Locsin, with a capacity of one million passengers, was constructed in 1980 and the runway was progressively extended from its original length of 1,200 meters to its current 3,000 meters. Both projects were funded during the term of then-Congressman Manuel Garcia, whose congressional district covers the airport perimeter.
Rapid growth at the airport precipitated the construction of a ₱15 million interim international terminal beside the airport's then-existing terminal, and then eventually a new, larger terminal building which would consolidate the two existing terminals. In planning since 1992, construction began in 2000 and subsequently inaugurated on December 2, 2003, with a capacity double that of the old airport terminal. The construction of the new P2.7 billion building was funded by both the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank.
On March 4, 2003, a bomb exploded in the waiting shed outside the old terminal building, killing 21 people. At least 145 others were injured when the bomb went off.
On June 2015, the Mindanao Development Authority plans to turn the 1980–2003 airport terminal into a trade and cultural museum. The plans are still being studied.

Statistics

Data from Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Passenger movements

YearDomesticInternationalTotalChange
2003742,43613,185755,621
20041,128,65322,5731,151,226 52.35%
20051,322,06424,9711,347,035 17.01%
20061,307,63534,1791,341,814 0.39%
20071,502,60052,6221,555,222 15.90%
20081,646,34746,5301,692,877 8.85%
20091,935,45432,4961,967,950 16.25%
20102,207,68421,4932,229,177 13.27%
20112,364,97225,1672,390,139 7.22%
20122,923,32739,9162,963,243 23.98%
20132,773,69133,5382,807,229 5.26%
20143,408,48743,9923,452,479 22.99%
20154,099,13150,9744,150,105 20.21%
20163,462,11991,0823,553,201 14.38%
20174,140,75793,9104,234,667 19.18%
20184,288,408147,1494,435,557 4.74%

Aircraft movements

YearDomesticInternationalTotalChange
20038,9684809,448
200411,36663412,000 27.01%
200511,96871812,686 5.72%
200612,9201,03413,954 10.00%
200713,7781,12614,904 6.81%
200815,41478016,194 8.66%
20099,3162839,599 40.72%
20109,6922199,911 3.25%
201110,23823910,477 5.71%
201225,46063426,094 149.06%
201329,10453629,640 13.59%
201422,82269423,516 20.66%
201526,05875826,816 14.03%
201632,5711,18633,757 25.88%
201736,0942,39938,493 14.03%
201842,7401,59544,335 15.18%

Cargo movements

An em dash is used when data from CAAP is not available.

Structure

Terminal

The billion passenger terminal is a Malay architecture-inspired building which is four times larger than the old terminal. It is a two-level terminal building with an area of approximately. It is also fully computerized, more secure and has more commercial spaces for concessionaires at approximately of gross leasable area. It has four jetbridges for passenger boarding. Moreover, it also has a Flight Information Display System and closed-circuit television system complementing the terminal's security system.
The terminal has 14 domestic and 14 international check-in counters that can handle a steady flow of passenger traffic. The Check-in counters are equipped with electronic weighing scales and conveyors and its baggage handling system is also computerized. It also has 2 arrival areas, for domestic and international with 2 baggage conveyors each. The Cargo Terminal Building covers almost and can handle up to of cargo a year.

Runway

The airport has a single long runway by wide that can handle basically all passenger wide-bodied aircraft, including the Airbus A380. Complementing the runway are two turning pads at each end of it, which help aircraft make a backtrack. The installation of a new instrument landing system for both Runways 05 and 23 upgraded its compliance to International Civil Aviation Organization operating category-Precision Approach Category 1. It can accommodate 8 to 10 aircraft landings per hour, depending on size and has the equivalent 9 gate holding areas for those aircraft. The airport has also 2 dual access taxiway. Taxiways A3 and A4 are used to access the new ramp and terminal; taxiways B and C are used for access to the old airport ramp.
The largest aircraft to land at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport is an Antonov An-124. The Antonov An-124 is the fourth largest plane in the world, next to the Boeing 747-8.

Other structures

Besides the main terminal building, there are also new support facilities like the Administration Building, Airfield Maintenance Building, Central Plant Building, Hangar for Military and Training aircraft and Fire/Crash/Rescue Building. It has an 800-slot car parking area and 4 slots for shuttle buses. It has a standby power generator.

Future Development

A Philippine Tourism Development Plan was released by the Department of Tourism, which includes Davao International Airport: Bidding for the construction of a parallel taxiway has been completed and will start construction soon.

Project 4: Upgrade

This project comprises the following tasks:
As of June 8, 2020, some flights have resumed, with particular schedules of operations mandated by the City Mayor. However, due to cancellation of flights because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this list is no longer current and destinations are subject to change without prior notice.

Access and transportation

Road

The airport is connected to the city via the Carlos P. Garcia National Highway. The 4-laned La Verna-Mamay Bypass Road was constructed and finished in 2017 near the airport to decongest traffic going from Mamay road to the airport and beyond and vice versa, by avoiding the usually busy intersection of Mamay Road and the Carlos P. Garcia National Highway. To avoid widening a road, which would displace houses and creep onto the airport's site, the road splits into two for 600 meters then merges back. It has a length of 1.7 kilometers, and is able to accommodate 1,000 vehicles per day.
The planned Davao City Expressway will further connect the airport to the city via a diamond interchange. If it goes according to plan, the entire project will be completed in 2026.

Incidents