By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.
Maasin City, Southern Leyte-The Panan-wan Airport, in brgy.Panan-awan, about 15 kilometers away from the city proper, which at present is under improvement works, would be fully developed in 2013. The Department of Transportation and Communication has an additional earmark of P200M budget for the airport.
This was the disclosure of Congressman Roger Mercado, who invited the print and broadcast media in touring the different places of the city together with his Korean visitor whom the former has invited to visit Maasin and encourage the latter to invest here.
At the airport during the course of the group tour, he informed that the 1,200 meters extension of the runaway was already completed. A tarmac, where smaller planes are to be placed on standby was already constructed.
However, if it would be converted into an international airport to complement the Mactan airport in case of future air traffic, Mercado explained, it needs another 2 kilometers more as the standard length of a runway to accommodate bigger airlines.
He said the airport construction in Pan-awan will be following the standard 8-lane concrete ground laying for the landing planes in preparation for its coming future operations.
The Congressman said that by the time the Maasin airport will be fully developed, a terminal building shall be constructed, including the tower, radar and the necessary lightings of the airport and the runway to guide the pilots during the night flights.
Presently, four, two-seater training planes for students-pilots have used the airport in their flight trainings. These training planes come from Mactan airport where a training school is located.
Pilot-instructor Jesup Bahinting who is in his 50s,owner of a six-seater plane with plate no.RP-C4434 used to bring Congressman Mercado and his two friends, Korean investor Richard Ryu and water analyst Louie Kuizon,told the press that he has at present 100 students-pilots composed of 28 nationalities.
He said that among them were Indians, Afghanistans, Indonesians, Singaporeans, Malaysians, Taiwanese, Chinese, others.
Bahinting divulged that most of his students were airline scholars whose fathers were pilots working in various airlines that provide them with the scholarship grants.
He claimed that the Indonesian students-pilots have the highest numbers of monthly graduates numbering to 20. He has other pilot-instructors who assisted him in the training of students-pilots.
The pilot -instructor confided that the tuition fee for the 6 to 12 months training, depending on the weather condition, is $40,000.He said the aforesaid amount would cover board and lodging, equipment and gadgets needed during the duration of the students’ training and others.
Moeover, he pointed out that students-pilots must have graduated in a four-year college course in order for them to qualify as commercial pilots in different airline companies.
For his part, Mercado informed that he will file a Bill in Congress to promote rural air transport for the provinces that have good tourism potentials.
Later, after viewing the airport with some workers doing their jobs, the Congressman urged the people of Maasin to visit the Panan-awan airport to see for themselves its development and improvement.
Mercado and his visitors, together with Governor Damian Mercado, the media and some capitol employees after posing for souvenir photo shoots beside Bahinting’s plane, embarked aboard the plane. It moved towards the runway and positioned itself facing north to summon its full power before speeding for the take off.
Earlier Mercado intimated that Panan-awan airport to Mactan airport in Cebu is only about 25 minutes flight. From there they will take a plane bound for Manila.”Lesser travel time”, he averred, “than if you go to Tacloban riding on a van or private car for 4 hours or more to reach the Tacloban airport for your Manila journey”.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)
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