Subic Bay International Airport
Encyclopedia
Cargo airlines
As of October 2010, there are no cargo airlines operating in Subic Bay International Airport.FedEx Express closed its hub at Subic Bay on February 6, 2009, this was the first hub to be closed in FedEx's history. The hub operation was relocated to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is the main airport of Guangzhou, the capital of the province of Guangdong, People's Republic of China. Both airport codes were inherited from the previous Guangzhou airport, and the IATA code reflects Guangzhou's former romanization Canton...
in China and while ground and technical operations were transferred to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport
Diosdado Macapagal International Airport
Diosdado Macapagal International Airport , also called Clark International Airport , is the main airport serving the immediate vicinity of the Clark Freeport Zone and the general area of Angeles City in the Philippines...
in Angeles City
Angeles City
The City of Angeles , located within the province of Pampanga in the Philippines, is locally classified as a first-class, highly-urbanized city. Its name is derived from El Pueblo de los Ángeles in honor of its patron saints, Los Santos Ángeles de los Custodios , and the name of its founder, Don...
. Together with its support company Corporate Air
Corporate Air (Philippines)
Corporate Air is an airline based in Billings, MT. It has since ceased operations in its Manila, Philippines base. It was established in 1995 and operates airbridge and feeder services between Subic and Davao City, with stops in Manila and Cebu City on behalf of FedEx. It also operates scheduled...
.
Flight training
- Aeroflite Aviation Corporation
- Aero Equipt Aviation Inc.
- ACE Pilots Aviation Academy
- OMNI Aviation Corporation
The airport is also a base of a flight school Aeroflite Aviation Corp since 2006. Aeroflite utilizes the Midway ramp as its aircraft parking ramp.
Training flights are conducted everyday except for holidays and as long as the VFR in Subic Bay International Airport is open. The flight school has a fleet of Cessna 150, 152, 172, Piper Seneca and Beechcraft Baron 58. Flight training in Subic Airport is done under controlled airspace where radio communications is vital.
Events
- Subic Bay International Airport hosted a number of wide-bodied aircraft during the seventh APECAsia-Pacific Economic CooperationAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...
Summit in 1996. They include a chartered Royal Brunei Airlines Airbus A340Airbus A340The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is...
-200, a Japan Air Self-Defense ForceJapan Air Self-Defense ForceThe , or JASDF, is the aviation branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace and other aerospace operations. The JASDF carries out combat air patrols around Japan, while also maintaining an extensive network of ground and air early warning radar systems...
Boeing 747-400, and Air Force OneAir Force OneAir Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
, a Boeing 747Boeing 747The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
-200B, among others.
Incidents and accidents
On December 13, 1995, SBIA became the main diversion airport when the Ninoy Aquino International AirportNinoy Aquino International Airport
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA , also known as Manila International Airport , is the airport serving the general area of Manila and its surrounding metropolitan area...
had a problem with its runway because of Asian Spirit Flight 897. On that day, it served 1,674 passengers from various international airlines while serving 212 passengers from various local airlines.
On October 17, 1999, a FedEx Express MD-11 from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, upon landing into Subic Bay's runway 07 rolled onto runway 25, hitting a concrete post and slamming into a wire fence before plunging into the bay. All of the plane submerged except the cockpit. The aircraft was written off.
On August 18, 2007, SBIA became one of the main diversion airports due to "Super Typhoon" Typhoon Sepat (2007)
Typhoon Sepat (2007)
Typhoon Sepat was the eighth tropical storm of the 2007 Pacific typhoon season that affected the Philippines and made landfall in Taiwan and Fujian.-Meteorological history:On August 11, a low-level circulation center...
(also known as Typhoon 'Egay') which struck Taiwan and parts of China and the Philippines. At least 37 aircraft took shelter in Subic Bay International Airport, 18 of which were FedEx Express. SBIA could handle up to 41 aircraft at a time. Most of the aircraft which diverted or sought shelter from the Typhoon were from China and Taiwan, numerous inbound and outbound Philippine flights were also delayed and cancelled due to the typhoon.
On June 2010, The Doppler Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range
VHF omnidirectional range
VOR, short for VHF omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft. A VOR ground station broadcasts a VHF radio composite signal including the station's identifier, voice , and navigation signal. The identifier is typically a two- or three-letter string in Morse code...
( DVOR ) controlling the Ninoy Aquino International Airport's Navigational aid failed following a short circuit. The Manila International Airport Authority got the replacement parts from Subic Bay Airport's own VOR thus disabling the Subic VOR from June to September 2010. As of beginning of October 2010, the airport still cannot accommodate instrument flight because of the lack of Radar, Weather Radar, Automatic Terminal Information Service
Automatic Terminal Information Service
Automatic Terminal Information Service, or ATIS, is a continuous broadcast of recorded noncontrol information in busier terminal areas. ATIS broadcasts contain essential information, such as weather information, which runways are active, available approaches, and any other information required by...
(ATIS), calibrated ILS and a calibrated VOR. Pilots flying in IMC
Instrument meteorological conditions
Instrument meteorological conditions is an aviation flight category that describes weather conditions that require pilots to fly primarily by reference to instruments, and therefore under Instrument Flight Rules , rather than by outside visual references under Visual Flight Rules . Typically, this...
or in Instrument Flight into or from Subic Bay International Airport are expected to fly visual upon arriving or departing the Subic Bay Airspace. The airport cannot make repairs and calibrations for its navaids due to lack of income. But as of middle of October 2010, the airport is partially activating and calibrating its navigational aids like the VOR, ILS and Airport Radar. It has also resume its ATIS but only during daylight hours only. As of 1st week of November 2010, normal operations of the Airport NAVAIDS resume and can handle IFR flights again.