Cebu airport authority calls for second runway

The airport authority of Cebu is pushing for the construction of a second runway to cut disruptions at the country’s second busiest air gateway.The additional runway, distinct from the proposal of operator GMR Megawide Consortium to build a parallel runway, will serve as a backup facility in the event of maintenance activities or even emergencies such as aircraft accidents.

“In the past, we have often experienced closures of our single runway due to repair, maintenance, inspections, or aircraft accidents,” Steve Dicdican, Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) general manager, said in a statement.

“We want to avoid these kinds of operational disruptions and inconvenience to our passengers in the future, and that is why we are eager to construct this additional runway,” he added.

“We also have to factor in the runway maintenance and repairs that need to be conducted. Given the volume of air traffic that MCIA has and its impact on our community and economy, we need to ensure that airport operations will not be disrupted,” Dicdican said.

The MCIAA official said the need was pressing given increasing demand at the airport. Dicdican noted that GMR Megawide Consortium, the private operator of MCIA, had also proposed to build a fully independent parallel runway.

This is part of the operator’s 50-year masterplan for the airport for which the company was earlier given original proponent status. Dicdican said the additional runway project of MCIAA is expected to be completed by 2022 while the independent runway proposed by GMR Megawide is expected to be completed by 2032. INQ