Loakan Airport
Encyclopedia
Loakan Airport is an airport
serving the general area of Baguio City
, located in the province of Benguet
in the Philippines
. The airport is classified as a Class 2 principal (minor domestic) airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
Loakan Airport was formerly served by Philippine Airlines
(PAL) beginning on March 15, 1941 with a single Beechcraft Model 18 NPC-54
on daily services between Manila (from Nielson Field
) and Baguio. PAL suspended flights into Baguio in 1998 as part of a company downsizing. In the next year, commercial airline service into Baguio resumed with service from Asian Spirit Airlines
, which later became Zest Airways. Commercial air service into Loakan Airport was again discontinued in July 2008, until service by Sky Pasada
service began in 2009.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
serving the general area of Baguio City
Baguio City
The City of Baguio is a highly urbanized city in northern Luzon in the Philippines. Baguio City was established by Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway...
, located in the province of Benguet
Benguet
Benguet is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is La Trinidad and borders, clockwise from the south, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Mountain Province, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya....
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. The airport is classified as a Class 2 principal (minor domestic) airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
Airlines and destinations
Philippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines, Inc. operating as Philippine Airlines, is a flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered in the Philippine National Bank Financial Center in Pasay City, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the first and oldest commercial airline in Asia operating under its original name...
(PAL) beginning on March 15, 1941 with a single Beechcraft Model 18 NPC-54
Beechcraft Model 18
The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
on daily services between Manila (from Nielson Field
Nielson Field
Nielson Field was the location of the Far East Air Force headquarters. Most of the aircraft of the FEAF were based at either Clark Field or Nichols Field.- Laurie Reuben Nielson :...
) and Baguio. PAL suspended flights into Baguio in 1998 as part of a company downsizing. In the next year, commercial airline service into Baguio resumed with service from Asian Spirit Airlines
Asian Spirit
Zest Airways Inc. is an airline based in the Asian Aeronautics Hangar in the General Aviation Area in Pasay City, Metro Manila in the Philippines. It operates scheduled domestic and international tourist services, mainly feeder services linking Manila and Cebu with 24 domestic destinations in...
, which later became Zest Airways. Commercial air service into Loakan Airport was again discontinued in July 2008, until service by Sky Pasada
Sky Pasada
Sky Pasada is an airline owned by WCC Aviation Company of the Guico family which owns the World Citi College and the World City Medical Center. Its corporate headquarters is located at the World City Medical Center in Cubao, Quezon City. The airline is primarily serving the aeronautical highway of...
service began in 2009.
Incidents and accidents
- A Philippine Airlines DC-3 was lost on takeoff in 1952.
- On the morning of June 27, 1987, Philippine Airlines Flight 206Philippine Airlines Flight 206Philippine Airlines Flight 206 was the route designator of a domestic flight from the Manila Domestic Airport, Metro Manila, Philippines to Loakan Airport, Baguio City...
a Hawker Siddeley HS 748, bound for Baguio, crashed in the slopes of Mt. Ugo while attempting to land in a monsoonMonsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
, killing all 50 people on board. Then a Philippine Air ForcePhilippine Air ForceThe Philippine Air Force is the air force of the Republic of the Philippines, and one of the three main services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas....
Bell UH-1 Huey was lost during recovery operations of that crash.
- A Philippine Air Force Cessna T-41 crashed right after takeoff on May 25, 2005. All four airmen died.
- On April 7, 2009, a Bell 412Bell 412The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:...
presidential helicopter owned by the Philippine Air ForcePhilippine Air ForceThe Philippine Air Force is the air force of the Republic of the Philippines, and one of the three main services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas....
carrying 8 key aides of President Gloria Macapagal-ArroyoGloria Macapagal-ArroyoGloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
crashed in the slopes of Mount PulagMount PulagMount Pulag is the second highest mountain in the Philippines. It is Luzon’s highest peak at 2,922 meters above sea level. The borders between the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya meet at the mountain's peak....
in Tinoc, IfugaoTinoc, IfugaoTinoc is a 5th class municipality in the province of Ifugao, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 12,045 people in 1,680 households.-Barangays:Tinoc is politically subdivided into 12 barangays.* Ahin* Ap-apid* Binablayan...
while en route to LagaweLagawe, IfugaoLagawe is a 4th class municipality in the province of Ifugao, Philippines. It is the capital municipality of Ifugao. According to the latest census, it has a population of 17,373 people in 2,944 households.-Barangays:...
, the provincial capital of Ifugao. But they tried to return to Loakan Airport due to bad weather. All onboard the ill-fated chopper died and Malacañang mourned for their deaths. At the time of the crash, the key aides checked the area for the visit of President Arroyo because she will inspect her mountain road project. Because of the disaster, she cancelled her trip. The U.S. officials dispatched CH-46 Sea KnightCH-46 Sea KnightThe Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and...
s to find the downed chopper.