Bantayan Island Airport ready to serve

AT LEAST two flights a week may fly from Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) to Bantayan Island Airport when the latter’s operations return in April this year.

Julius “Jayjay” Neri Jr., general manager of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), told SunStar Cebu Friday, March 10, 2023, that only Air Juan had, so far, expressed its intention to fly from the MCIA to Bantayan Island.

Air Juan’s operations to and from Bantayan were halted sometime in 2020 following the start of the runway’s construction works.

He, however, clarified that there are other groups currently studying the possibility of embarking on the route.

Neri said Air Juan, which had two flights at that time, used a 12-seater plane.

The newly renovated runway of Bantayan Island’s airport was inaugurated Wednesday, March 8, 2023.

Neri said the airport cannot yet be considered commercial since it still needs further infrastructure to be classified as such.

But he said the size of its runway can already accommodate light planes made by aircraft manufacturer ATR (French: Avions de transport régional) and Fokker 50, which can carry up to 62 passengers.

Neri said they expect more tourist arrivals in the island and more revenues in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that devastated the nation’s economy.