The project director of the New Bacolod-Silay Airport said yesterday that as soon as the flight check is conducted and the aeronautical information publication on the Bacolod airport is amended, the airport in Silay can be fully operational.

Edgar Mangalili said there is no problem as far as the construction of the airport is concerned, but the flight check and the amendment on the AIP are among the requirements set by the Air Transportation Office.

The flight check is a normal procedure where navigational aids and markers as well as arrival and departure procedures are tested, Mangalili said.

The test, which will take at least three months to complete, will be conducted late this month on the first week of August. By then, construction of the access road will be complete and everything will be in place for the operation of the airport, he added.

The flight check could have been conducted earlier but the ATO aircraft had to undergo massive repair after it reached its maximum number of hours, Mangalili said.

For the scheduled flight check in the Silay airport, the ATO will rent an aircraft, either from Thailand or Japan, he added.

He also said the airport in Bacolod City is definitely scheduled for closure.

He said the equipment loaned by DOTC while the construction in Silay was going on, will be pulled out on the last flight out of the Bacolod airport.

Mangalili said DOTC purchased x-ray machines for passengers and baggage, three firetrucks, a runway sweeper, dumptruck, and a tractor mower that were temporarily loaned to the Bacolod airport until the new facility in Silay is operational.

He also said that the access road that will be constructed was not included in the airport plan and the loan agreement between the government and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. While the runway on the new airport can accommodate A-320 aircraft with a maximum number of 150 passengers, it remains a domestic airport with international standard, Mangalili said.*NAB

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