600 employees needed to start Bohol airport ops in Panglao

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — At least 600 aviation employees, and Customs officers and personnel are needed to handle a 24-hour operation of the new Bohol International Airport in Panglao.

Governor Edgar Chatto, in statement Saturday, said the manpower requirement should be satisfied before the airport opens in August.

At present, the airport needs at least 190 aviation and customs officers to man the new Bohol Panglao Airport which is due to open for commercial operations by the third quarter of 2018. There are now only two Customs employees stationed at the Tagbilaran Airport.

The Tagbilaran Airport will be transformed into a business park or a special economic zone once the airport in Panglao opens.

Chatto last week sat down with officials of the BOC and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to iron out the manpower and other needs of the airport for smooth operation come August.

The BOC-CAAP group was led by BOC-Cebu Deputy Collector for Administration Wivina Pumatong, who inspected the office, administration and operation areas for the Customs at the airport on Panglao Island, said the statement from the Capitol’s Effective Development Communications (Edcom).

Pumatong told Chatto the BOC is assigning 40 officers and personnel, while CAAP will detail 150 men for the initial airport operation this year.

The airport will initially be opened for daylight flights. Night time flights will be allowed by 2019 when all of the night time safety aviation facilities and equipment are installed.

The CAAP sees a massive need of about 400 officers and personnel to operate the airport that is 30 years in the making and costs about P7 billion. The airport's runway has been extended to three kilometers to allow bigger model aircrafts to take off and land.

In a television interview, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade named the Bohol Panglao Airport as one of the three "world-class" airports due to be operational this year. The two other "world-class" airports are in Cagayan de Oro City and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), where a new terminal is under construction. (PNA) (FREEMAN)