Francisco Bangoy International Airport

Francisco Bangoy International Airport Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Francisco Bangoy
The airport in January 2018 as viewed from across the runway
IATA: DVO ICAO: RPMD
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
Operator	Davao International Airport Authority
Serves	Davao City and Davao Region
Location	Buhangin, Davao City, Philippines
Focus city for	Cebu Pacific PAL Express Philippine Airlines Philippines AirAsia
Elevation AMSL	29 m / 96 ft
Coordinates	07°07′31″N 125°38′45″E / 7.12528°N 125.64583°E / 7.12528; 125.64583Coordinates: 07°07′31″N 125°38′45″E / 7.12528°N 125.64583°E / 7.12528; 125.64583
Map
DVO/RPMD Location in the Philippines
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05/23 3,000 9,843 Asphalt concrete
Statistics (2018)
Passengers 4,435,557 4.74% Aircraft movements 44,335 15.18% Cargo (in kg) (2017) 57,753,999 7.63%
Source: eFOI[1]

Francisco Bangoy International Airport (Cebuano: Tugpahanang Pangkalibutan sa Francisco Bangoy; Filipino: Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Francisco Bangoy; IATA: DVO, ICAO: RPMD), also commonly known as Davao International Airport, is the main airport serving Davao City and the entire Davao Region in the Philippines. It is the busiest airport on the island of Mindanao and the third busiest in the Philippines after Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila and Mactan–Cebu International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City. The airport has a single 3,000-meter precision runway.

History[]

Old airport terminal

Francisco Bangoy International Airport began operations in the 1940s with a donation of land in Barangay Sasa, located in the Buhangin district of Davao City, by Don Francisco Bangoy, the then-current patriarch of an influential family that founded and settled Davao alongside Don Jose Uyanguren. At the time it began operation, the airport merely consisted of a 1,200-meter unpaved grass runway and quonset huts serving as terminal buildings. At the time, and throughout much of the 1940s and 1950s, both Philippine Airlines and the Philippine Air Force provided air service to the city.^[2]

By 1959, the complex consisted of a small control tower and several low-rise buildings. Right of way and access to the terminal buildings and the airport were improved through further donation of land by Paciano Bangoy, Francisco's son, during the latter stages of Paciano's gubernatorial term. A new terminal designed by Filipino architect Leandro Locsin, with a capacity of one million passengers, was constructed in 1980, and the runway was progressively extended from its original length of 1,200 meters to its current 3,000 meters. Both projects were funded during the term of then-Congressman Manuel Garcia, whose congressional district covers the airport perimeter.^[2]

Rapid growth at the airport precipitated the construction of a ₱15 million interim international terminal beside the airport's then-existing terminal,^[2] and then eventually a new, larger terminal building which would consolidate the two existing terminals. In planning since 1992, construction began in 2000 and subsequently inaugurated on December 2, 2003, with a capacity double that of the old airport terminal. The construction of the new P2.7 billion building was funded by both the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank.^[2] The modernization and upgrading of the airport facilities aims to make Davao as a hub for tourism and foreign investment in the region. Development was funded by a forty million-dollar loan from the Asian Development Bank, co-financed by the European Investment Bank for twenty-five million ECUs, and through budgetary allocations from the government. The total cost of the project amounted to $128 million.

On November 12, 2007, Cebu Pacific announced the airport as its third hub.^[3] Likewise, Philippine Airlines, the country's flag carrier, announced the airport as its third hub on March 26, 2018.^[4]

In June 2015, the Mindanao Development Authority plans to turn the 1980–2003 airport terminal into a trade and cultural museum. The plans are still being studied.

The Republic Act 11457, also known as the Davao International Airport Authority charter, was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on August 30, 2019. This law creates and establishes the Davao International Airport Authority which will be handling all airports in Davao Region, including the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City.^[5]

Statistics[]

Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).^[1][6]

Passenger movements[]

Annual passenger traffic at DVO airport. See source Wikidata query.

Year Domestic International Total Change 2001 937,751 13,306 951,057 2002 961,990 14,441 976,431 2.67% 2003 742,436 13,185 755,621 22.61% 2004 1,128,653 22,573 1,151,226 52.35% 2005 1,322,064 24,971 1,347,035 17.01% 2006 1,307,635 34,179 1,341,814 0.39% 2007 1,502,600 52,622 1,555,222 15.90% 2008 1,646,347 46,530 1,692,877 8.85% 2009 1,935,454 32,496 1,967,950 16.25% 2010 2,207,684 21,493 2,229,177 13.27% 2011 2,364,972 25,167 2,390,139 7.22% 2012 2,923,327 39,916 2,963,243 23.98% 2013 2,773,691 33,538 2,807,229 5.26% 2014 3,408,487 43,992 3,452,479 22.99% 2015 4,099,131 50,974 4,150,105 20.21% 2016 3,462,119 91,082 3,553,201 14.38% 2017 4,140,757 93,910 4,234,667 19.18% 2018 4,288,408 147,149 4,435,557 4.74%

Aircraft movements[] Year Domestic International Total Change 2001 12,730 468 13,198 2002 11,422 460 11,882 9.97% 2003 8,968 480 9,448 20.48% 2004 11,366 634 12,000 27.01% 2005 11,968 718 12,686 5.72% 2006 12,920 1,034 13,954 10.00% 2007 13,778 1,126 14,904 6.81% 2008 15,414 780 16,194 8.66% 2009 9,316 283 9,599 40.72% 2010 9,692 219 9,911 3.25% 2011 10,238 239 10,477 5.71% 2012 25,460 634 26,094 149.06% 2013 29,104 536 29,640 13.59% 2014 22,822 694 23,516 20.66% 2015 26,058 758 26,816 14.03% 2016 32,571 1,186 33,757 25.88% 2017 36,094 2,399 38,493 14.03% 2018 42,740 1,595 44,335 15.18%

Cargo movements[] Year Domestic (in kg) International (in kg) Total (in kg) Change 2001 39,406,667 6,844,067 46,250,734 2002 44,380,469 3,519 44,383,988 4.04% 2003 30,779,223 1,654 30,780,877 30.65% 2004 41,972,437 — 41,972,437 36.36% 2005 70,372,167 — 70,372,167 67.66% 2006 40,753,487 — 40,753,487 42.09% 2007 45,516,843 15,455 45,532,298 11.73% 2008 53,287,642 14,931 53,302,573 17.07% 2009 34,172,210 84,429 34,256,639 35.73% 2010 40,568,631 63,195 40,631,826 18.61% 2011 34,772,206 51,771 34,823,977 14.29% 2012 42,118,391 67,392 42,185,783 21.14% 2013 44,455,899 — 44,455,899 5.38% 2014 53,714,155 76,347 53,790,502 21.00% 2015 59,737,244 77,062 59,814,306 11.20% 2016 53,590,101 68,400 53,658,501 10.29% 2017 57,594,657 159,342 57,753,999 7.63% 2018 78,824,575 145,262 78,969,837 36.73% An em dash (—) is used when data from CAAP is not available.

Structure[]

Terminal[]

A night shot of the Davao airport ramp during rush hour

The ₱2.7 billion passenger terminal is a Malay architecture-inspired building which is four times larger than the old terminal. It is a two-level terminal building with an area of approximately 17,500 square metres (188,000 sq ft). It is fully computerized, more secure and has more commercial spaces for concessionaires at approximately 9,000 square metres (97,000 sq ft) of gross leasable area. It has four (4) jetbridges for passenger boarding. It has a Flight Information Display System and closed-circuit television system complementing the terminal's security system. It is designed to handle approximately 2 million passengers annually. The added capacity is complemented by the latest navigational, security, and baggage handling equipment.

The terminal has 14 domestic and 14 international check-in counters that can handle a steady flow of passenger traffic. The check-in counters are equipped with electronic weighing scales and conveyors and its baggage handling system is also computerized. It has two arrival areas, for domestic and international flights, with two baggage conveyors each. The cargo terminal building covers almost 5,580 square metres (60,100 sq ft) and can handle up to 84,600 metric tons (83,300 long tons; 93,300 short tons) of cargo annually.

Runway[]

A Philippine Airlines Airbus A330 at the ramp

The airport has a single 3,000-metre (9,800 ft) long by 45-metre (148 ft) wide runway that can handle basically all passenger wide-bodied aircraft, including the Airbus A380. The runway was extended from its previous length of 2,500 metres to accommodate future international flights and was completed in 2001.^[7] Complementing the runway are two (2) turning pads at each end of it, which help aircraft make a backtrack. The installation of a new instrument landing system (ILS) for both Runways 05 and 23 upgraded its compliance to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) operating category-Precision Approach Category 1. It can accommodate 8 to 10 aircraft landings per hour, depending on size and has the equivalent 9 gate holding areas for those aircraft. The airport has two dual access taxiways. Taxiways A3 and A4 are used to access the new ramp and terminal; taxiways B and C are used for access to the old airport ramp.^[8]

The Antonov An-124 is, by far, the largest aircraft to land at the airport. It is the fourth largest aircraft in the world, next to the Boeing 747-8.

Other structures[]

Besides the main terminal building, there are also new support facilities like the Administration Building, Airfield Maintenance Building, Central Plant Building, Hangar for Military and Training aircraft and Fire/Crash/Rescue Building. It has an 800-slot car parking area and four slots for shuttle buses. It has a 3-megawatt (4,000 hp) standby power generator.

Airport lounges[]

The airport consists of three major airport lounges for departing or transiting passengers.

Domestic

• Mabuhay Lounge by Philippine Airlines^[9]
• PAGSS Lounge^[10][11]

International

• PAGSS Lounge^[12]

Future[]

A Philippine Tourism Development Plan was released by the Department of Tourism, which includes Davao International Airport:^{[13][better source needed]} Bidding for the construction of a parallel taxiway has been completed and will start construction soon.^[14]

Project 4: Upgrade[]

This project comprises the following tasks:

• In January 2017, the bidding started for the Rehabilitation and Expansion of Davao International Airport. It includes building a new passenger terminal and a second runway being considered. On May 22, 2017, Sec. Tugade decided that the funds will be from Overseas Development Assistance (ODA).
• Rehabilitate existing terminal building and improvement of comfort rooms; expansion of existing terminal building, expansion of apron and vehicle parking area; consultancy services for the advance engineering, detailed engineering design and environmental impact assessment Study for Davao Airport Project; and construction of parallel taxiway and initial site acquisition for new airport site.
• Improvements to enhance the safety, security, access, passenger and cargo movement efficiency, and operational efficiency.

Airlines and destinations[]

Due to cancellation of flights following the COVID-19 pandemic, this list is no longer current and destinations are subject to change without prior notice.^[15]

Destination maps
Davao Bacolod Cebu Clark Iloilo Manila Tagbilaran Zamboanga Cagayan de Oro Siargao Domestic destinations from Francisco Bangoy International Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination Black = Suspended destination due to COVID
Davao Singapore Manado Hong Kong Doha Quanzhou International destinations from Francisco Bangoy International Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination Black = Suspended destination due to COVID

Access and transportation[]

Road[]

The Davao River Bridge, part of the Carlos P. Garcia National Highway

The airport is connected to the city via the Carlos P. Garcia National Highway. The 4-laned La Verna-Mamay Bypass Road was constructed and finished in 2017 near the airport to decongest traffic going from Mamay road to the airport and beyond and vice versa, by avoiding the usually busy intersection of Mamay Road and the Carlos P. Garcia National Highway. To avoid widening a road, which would displace houses and creep onto the airport's site, the road splits into two for 600 meters then merges back. It has a length of 1.7 kilometers, and is able to accommodate 1,000 vehicles per day.^[16]

The planned Davao City Expressway will further connect the airport to the city via a diamond interchange. If it goes according to plan, the entire project will be completed in 2026.^[17]

Accidents and incidents[]

• On April 19, 2000, Air Philippines Flight 541, a Boeing 737-200 en route from Manila to Davao crashed near the airport, killing 131 people.^[18][19]
• On March 4, 2003, a bomb exploded in the waiting shed outside the old terminal building, killing 21 people. At least 145 others were injured.^[20]
• On the night of August 25, 2008, a Philippine Air Force Lockheed L-100 Hercules bound for Iloilo City crashed into Davao Gulf shortly after takeoff. The aircraft sank 800 feet into the gulf. The incident killed nine crew members plus two Philippine Army soldiers.^[21][22] After several days of a search-and-retrieval operation, the wreckage was found with the help of a US Navy ship, the USNS John McDonnell.^[23]
• On June 2, 2013, Cebu Pacific Flight 971 (registration number RP-C3266), carrying 165 passengers inbound from Manila, overshot the runway during a heavy rain. There were no fatalities, but the plane was heavily damaged.^[24] The damaged aircraft was moved to the old airport terminal for investigation and parting.

See also[]

• List of airports in the Philippines
• Tallest buildings in Davao City

References[]

External links[]

• – AECOM
• What's On & Expat Magazine, June 18, 2006 – Upgraded Davao City International Airport Is Ready for More Passengers and Bigger Aircraft
• Current weather for RPMD at NOAA/NWS
• Airport information for DVO / RPMD at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
• Accident history for DVO / RPMD at Aviation Safety Network