Bagabag Airport Pagtayaban ti Bagabag (Ilocano) Paliparan ng Bagabag (Filipino) | |||||||||||
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 Exterior of Bagabag Airport | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines | ||||||||||
| Serves | Bagabag | ||||||||||
| Location | Villa Coloma, Bagabag,Nueva Vizcaya | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 250 m / 820 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 16°37′09″N121°15′07″E / 16.61917°N 121.25194°E /16.61917; 121.25194 | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
.svg)  RPUZ Location in the Philippines | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics | |||||||||||
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| Statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.[1] | |||||||||||
Bagabag Airport (Ilocano:Pagtayaban ti Bagabag,Filipino:Paliparan ng Bagabag) (ICAO:RPUZ) is an airport serving the general area ofBagabag, located in the province ofNueva Vizcaya in thePhilippines. It is the only airport in Nueva Vizcaya and is classified as a community airport[2] by theCivil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, a body of theDepartment of Transportation that is responsible for the operations of airports in the Philippines except the major international airports.
The airport was built during World War II for the use of American soldiers.[3] Following the Japanese surrender in September 1945, GeneralTomoyuki Yamashita and his entourage, following their capitulation inIfugao, were transported by car to the airport, where they were transported by plane toLa Union on their way toBaguio.[4] After Philippine independence, the airfield was converted into a civilian airport by presidentDiosdado Macapagal.[3]
It is the closest public airport to theBanaue Rice Terraces atBanaue, theRice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras at Banaue,Mayoyao,Hungduan andKiangan; the tourist town ofSagada,Mountain Province; and other attractions in the province ofNueva Vizcaya such as theBayombong Cathedral, Imugan Falls inSanta Fe, Mount Palali and the Capisaan Caves in theCaraballo Mountains and theSan Vicente Ferrer Church inDupax del Sur.[5]
Philippine Airlines operated flights to Bagabag in the 1970s but later cancelled them. In 2000, SeaAir briefly operated charter flights to Bagabag.[3]
Following years of only seeing limited use by mostly general aviation and military flights, the airport will once again be serviced by regular commercial flights (at a frequency of every four days) beginning 1 June 2017, with Platinum Skies using 31-seaterDornier 328 aircraft chartered by Wakay Tours to carry passengers availing of their Banaue tour packages.[5] The 30-minute flight to Bagabag fromClark International Airport cuts down travel time to Banaue fromManila, normally a 10- to 12-hour drive, by half.[5]
