Tuguegarao Airport

Tuguegarao Airport (IATA: TUG, ICAO: RPUT) is an airport serving the general area of Tuguegarao, the capital city of the province of Cagayan in the Philippines. Located along Maharlika Highway, the airport is accessible from adjacent municipalities in Cagayan and northern Isabela. It is classified as a major commercial domestic airport by the Air Transportation Office.

Tuguegarao Airport Pagtayaban ti Tuguegarao Pakkayabban ya Tugegaraw Paliparan ng Tuguegarao
Exterior of Tuguegarao Airport in 2022
IATA: TUG ICAO: RPUT WMO: 98233
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
Serves	Tuguegarao
Elevation AMSL	21 m / 70 ft
Coordinates	17°38′18″N 121°43′50″E
Map
TUG/RPUT Show map of Luzon TUG/RPUT Show map of Philippines
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 17/35 1,965 6,447 Concrete
Statistics (2023)
Passengers (2023) 225,961 52.8% Aircraft movements 4,226[1] Tonnes of cargo 2,161.5[1]
Statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.[1]

The airport is currently served by Cebu Pacific, Sky Pasada, and Philippine Airlines with regular and charter flights to Manila, Calayan, Batanes, and Isabela.^[2] In 2023, Tuguegarao Airport recorded annual passenger traffic of 225,961, a 52.8% increase from the previous year.^[1]

Statistics

Volume of passengers

Data of passenger movements is from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).^[1]

Calendar Year	Passenger movement	% Change
2001[3]	33,485	no data
2002[3]	27,000[a]	19.37%
2003[3]	17,786[b]	34.13%
2004[3]	31,973[c]	79.76%
2005[3]	31,992[d]	0.06%
2006[3]	29,814	6.81%
2007[3]	38,123	27.87%
2008[3]	68,821	80.00%
2009[3]	94,350	37.09%
2010[3]	116,525	23.50%
2011[4]	127,595	9.50%
2012[5]	223,907	75.48%
2013[6]	141,151	36.96%
2014[7]	151,608	7.41%
2015[8]	129,889	14.33%
2016[9]	186,193	43.35%
2017[10]	209,358	12.44%
2018[11]	384,819	83.81%
2019	225,747	41.34%
2020	41,931	81.43%
2021	21,870	47.84%
2022	147,865	576.11%
2023	225,961	52.82%

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Cebu Pacific	Manila
Northsky Air	Charter: Itbayat, Palanan
PAL Express	Manila
Sky Pasada	Basco, Binalonan, Calayan, Maconacon, Palanan

Terminal and apron

View from the airport's apron of the passenger terminal building under renovation

The airport consists of a 1,100 square meter terminal with its second floor to be developed during its second phase of rehabilitation—^[2] and a 150-meter by 115-meter apron. In 2015, the Department of Transportation and Communications allotted ₱45.99 million for terminal upgrades and another ₱10.67 million for runway and taxiway widening.^[12]

On March 14, 2018, the rehabilitated and expanded Passenger Terminal Building was inaugurated by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.^[13] When all the expansions and upgrades were completed, the airport is expected to cater more passenger and aircraft movement as well as safe nighttime operations.

Expansion and development

In 2015, the Department of Transportation and Communications launched the expansion and modernization program of the Tuguegarao Airport, alongside several key secondary airports in the country. Named as the Tuguegarao Airport Development Project, which consist of ₱10.67 million for taxiway and runway widening and another ₱45.99 million for the terminal upgrades.^[12]

As of 2018, Phase 1 was completed which includes the expansion of the passenger terminal building, widening of runway and taxiway and the upgrading of the Airfield Lighting System, necessary for longer night time operations.^[13] Phase 2 of the Tuguegarao Airport Development Project, which starts in 2018, covers the expansion of the existing pre-departure and check-in areas of the passenger terminal building and additional check-in counters at the second floor.^[13]

The 2024 national budget has allocated ₱150.0 million for the airport's development in time for the projected full recovery of global air traffic in 2025.^[14] The airport's new air traffic control tower is currently under construction.

Accidents and incidents

• On August 1, 2023, a Cessna 152 plane registered as RP-C8598 crashed in Luna, Apayao, taking the lives of its two passengers. The plane, along with a similar aircraft, took off from Laoag at 12:16 PM but only one landed on Tuguegarao at 1:11 PM.^[15][16]

See also

• List of airports in the Philippines
• Cagayan North International Airport

Notes

1. Data missing for July and October 2002.
2. Data missing for May and August–November 2003.
3. Data missing for May 2004.
4. Data missing for December 2005.