Bacolod-Silay International Airport

Bacolod-Silay International Airport (Filipino: Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Bacolod-Silay, Hiligaynon: Pangkalibutan nga Hulugpaan sang Bacolod-Silay) (IATA: BCD, ICAO: RPVB) is the main airport serving the general area of Bacolod City, the capital city of Negros Occidental in the Philippines. This airport replaced the Bacolod City Domestic Airport in 2007. The Bacolod-Silay International Airport inherited its IATA and ICAO airport codes from the former.

The airport is located fifteen kilometers northeast of Bacolod City on a 181-hectare site in Barangay Bagtic,[1][2][5] Silay City. The airport, which is built to handle international traffic, is expected to become the primary gateway to Negros Island. It is one of the three international airports envisioned to serve the Western Visayas region, alongside Kalibo International Airport and the Iloilo International Airport.

The Bacolod-Silay International Airport is designated as an International Airport[4] by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, a body of the Department of Transportation and Communications that is responsible for the operations of not only this airport but also of all other airports in the Philippines except the major international airports

Planning for a new airport in Bacolod City commenced in 1997, when the Japan International Cooperation Agency initiated a study indicating the need for expansion at four Philippine airports: namely Bacolod City Domestic Airport, Mandurriao Airport in Iloilo City, Legazpi Airport in Legazpi City and Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City.[6] Of the four airports, two have been completed (Iloilo and Bacolod), one is being built (Legazpi) and another one in planning (Tacloban).

In February 1999, another JICA study was commissioned, this time on the detailed plan of the new airport.[6] The study was completed by March 2000 and was funded by a 430-million yen grant. Immediately after the completion of the study, JICA hired Pacific Consultants International as advisers to the project.[6]

The project was opened for bidding on August 25, 2003, with the winning bid going to the Takenaka-Itochu Joint Venture (TIJV).[6] Physical construction on the new 4.3 billion-peso airport,[5] funded in part by an 8.2-billion yen loan, commenced in August 2004. A 900-day deadline was imposed for the airport to be completed,[6] which broadly corresponds to January 2007.

The airport was complete as of July 16, 2007,[7] although there was considerable debate over whether or not the airport should be opened due to the length of its runway.[7] A 500-meter extension of the runway was planned in order for the airport to accommodate larger aircraft.[7] Depending on the scenario, the airport had a foreseen opening date of November 2007 or sometime in 2010, after the completion of a diversion road leading to the airport.[7]

The first aircraft ever to land at the airport was a small fourteen-seater turboprop owned by Vincent Aviation. The Reims-Cessna F406 with aircraft registration number ZK-VAF, piloted by Steve Gray of New Zealand landed at the airport at 9:55 in the morning of September 26, 2007.[8]

The airport officially opened and began operations on January 18, 2008, and the first commercial flight to arrive was Cebu Pacific's Flight 5J 473 from Manila, an Airbus A319-100 which landed at 5:22am PST on the same day.[9] Fittingly enough, the pilot in command of the aircraft - Captain Allan Garces - was a native of Silay City.[9]

The first international flight to arrive at the airport was a chartered plane from Kazakhstan which landed on January 2, 2009.[10][11] ZestAir commenced international flights to and from Incheon on January 7, 2012 utilizing Airbus A320