Kalibo airport is busiest airport in WV

Kalibo International Airport is the busiest airport in Western Visayas for 2013 and 2014, data from CAAP showed / PHOTO BOY RYAN ZABAL

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

The Kalibo International Airport (KIA) is the busiest airport in the region in terms of passenger traffic and aircraft movement last year, a report published by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) in its official website.

The number of domestic and international passengers in Kalibo International Airport reached 2,321,162 last year from 2,255,543 in 2013 or an increase by about four percent, due to massive tourist influx in Kalibo airport being the primary gateway of tourists to Boracay Island.

The international passengers went up 12.59 percent to 830,477 last year from 737,594 in 2013, while the domestic travelers at KIA dropped 1.79 percent to 1,490,685 last year from 1,517,949 in 2013.

Last year, Air Asia/Zest accounted for 40.38 percent or 602,021 domestic passengers followed by Cebu Pacific with 383,716 passengers or 25.74 percent and Philippine Airlines with 191,502 passengers or 12.84 percent.

Philippine Airlines, meanwhile, accounted for 35 percent of the international passengers with 286,605 followed by Air Asia/Zest with 221,337 (27 percent) and Cebu Pacific with 169,347 (20 percent).

The month of May had the most number of domestic passengers with 175,436 followed by April with 166,351; January, 143,975; February,  130,625 and December with 122,539 passengers.

 

Iloilo International Airport served 1,677,632 domestic and international passengers while Bacolod-Silay Airport had 1,317,841 passengers.

Caticlan Airport in Malay, Aklan served 507,621 passengers and Roxas (Capiz) Airport catered to 227,563 passengers.

In Aklan alone, passenger traffic reached 2.828 million in 2014 from 2.685 million in 2013 for Kalibo and Caticlan airports. 

In terms of aircraft movement, Kalibo International Airport had 20,962 flights compared to Iloilo International Airport with 17,686. There were also 13,756 flights in Bacolod-Silay Airport and 12,558  flights in Caticlan Airport in 2014.