Temporary closure of Catarman airport sought

MANILA, Philippines – Proposals have been forwarded to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippine (CAAP) to consider the temporary closure of the airport in Catarman, Northern Samar if local officials would not cooperate in enforcing an aviation rule prohibiting vehicles and people from using the runway for various activities.

Several aviation groups have made the drastic move, saying that safety is always the paramount concern when it comes to airport operations.

It also came in the wake of Cebu Pacific’s decision to suspend its four-times weekly Manila-Catarman flight, as the carrier had aborted several flights in the past due to people and vehicles crossing the runway.

CEB earlier had aborted the landing of its ATR-72 turbo-prop plane in Legazpi City airport, as a vehicle was roaming around the runway.

Subsequent investigation showed that the son of the Legazpi City airport’s manager was teaching his girlfriend to drive. CAAP Director General Ruben Ciron subsequently suspended the airport chief.

A decade ago, a former Air Transportation Office (ATO) official closed the Bacolod City airport in Negros Occidental after a local bigwig refused to reduce the height of a hotel located near the end of the runway.

Then ATO assistant secretary Panfilo Villaruel took a hand in destroying part of the Sugarland Hotel’s building, including a portion that encroached into the runway, prompting the hotel owner to bring the case to court.

Although Villaruel lost the case, the hotel management eventually conformed to the height requirement and flights at the Bacolod airport resumed.

Ciron said they had sent five security personnel to the Catarman airport to prevent residents from using the runway as playground or crossing it on board their cars, but to no avail.

A few years back, the ATO constructed a perimeter fence around the runway, but residents, whose houses are situated on the runway’s edge, destroyed it.

Residents were reportedly encouraged after local officials filed a petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the CAAP from enforcing its rules on trespassing.

Since the TRO was sought, a Catarman executive said residents have treated the runway as a playground, a park or a lover’s lane.

“At night, it becomes a convenient motel,” he said, adding that the paved runway makes it an ideal trysting place for lovers as they have ample space to park their vehicles.

Keeping the runway free of obstacles is an overriding concern of the CAAP, even if there are no longer regular scheduled flights at the Catarman airport.

Most often, pilots could use the nearest runway during emergency, which proved disastrous to the pilot of a light aircraft who tried to land his plane in Catarman after encountering engine trouble some years ago.

After seeing the mass of people and vehicles on the runway, the pilot was convinced that he was headed toward a provincial highway and diverted his flight, ending up ditching in the sea.

CAAP and CEB officials had a dialogue on Tuesday to resolve the issue.

CEB officials tried to convince Ciron to act on the matter immediately before any untoward incidents could happen at the Catarman airport.

Ciron organized a team to visit the Catarman airport and talk to local officials and find out how to convince the residents to avoid congregating on the runway, especially during the day.

A short-term solution to the problem is to reconstruct the perimeter fence, but the Department of Transportation and Communications is still trying to look where to get the funds.

The CAAP said the long-term solution is to relocate the runway, far away from the town proper.

Part of the runway used to be the Catarman National Park.

Despite CEB’s suspension, Philippine Airlines and Zest Air continue to operate out of the Catarman airport.