Subic Bay International Airport (RPLB) v1.0
Subic Bay International Airport serves as a secondary and diversion airport for Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila and Clark International Airport in Pampanga. It also serves the immediate area of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the provinces of Bataan and Zambales, and the general area of Olongapo in the Philippines.
The airport was as the Naval Air Station Cubi Point, part of the Subic Naval Base of the United States Navy, before the base closed.
Between 1992 and 1995 SBIA welcomed a total of around 100,000 commercial passengers. The airport was expected to handle 110,000 passengers in 1996. In 1997, SBIA topped the 100,000 annual passenger count. For the year 1998, the airport handled a total of around 1,000 international and 6,000 domestic flights, and almost 100,000 inbound and outbound passengers. By 2007 the number of recorded passengers had dropped to 17,648, but due to the presence of the FedEx AsiaOne Hub the airport still handled 115,108 flights.
The FedEx hub lasted until February 2009, when all operations were moved to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, China. Due to this departure, as well as the planned expansion of nearby Clark International Airport, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator and CEO Armand C. Arreza expressed interest in closing Subic Bay International Airport in favor of converting the area to a logistics hub in January 2010.
In December 2010, Guam-based Aviation Concepts Inc. set up fixed-based operations at the airport, refurbishing a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) hangar to international standards, with the aim of eventually establishing a full-service aviation center.
In 2016, the airport began to once again be used for daily commercial passenger flights, with Air Juan flying their nine-seater amphibious aircraft to and from their private seaplane base in Manila South Harbor, located north of the CCP Complex.
In 2018, Razon Group acquired Aviation Concepts Technical Services, Inc. (ACTSI) and signed a 25-year lease agreement (as well as a 25-year option) with the local government that will see the airport transformed into a regional business aviation hub, with a fifty plus years potential. The company is refurbishing its 1.8-acre (7,300 m2) facility and targeting to its premiere upgrade in the third quarter of 2019.
In July 2021, the airport was used again for repatriation flight of Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) which facilitated by Philippine Airlines. The activity led the revival of Commercial Flight schedule despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
DISCLAIMER:
737-200 Model is owned by ATSUK0
GPS Coordinates: 14.794167, 120.270833
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