Subic Bay International Airport ( fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Look ng Subic; ) serves as a secondary and diversion airport for
Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...
in Metro Manila and
Clark International Airport
Clark International Airport ( pam, Pangyatung Sulapawan ning Clark; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Clark; ), known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport from 2003 to 2012, is an international airport covering portions of the cities of ...
in Pampanga. It also serves the immediate area of the
Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the provinces of
Bataan
Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...
and
Zambales
Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...
, and the general area of
Olongapo
Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo ( fil, Lungsod ng Olongapo; ilo, Siudad ti Olongapo; xsb, Siyodad nin Olongapo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
The airport was known as the
Naval Air Station Cubi Point
U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point was a United States Navy aerial facility located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay and abutting the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.
When the base closed, the air station became the Subic Bay International ...
, part of the
Subic Naval Base of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, before the base closed.
History
In 1950, Admiral
Arthur W. Radford, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, envisioned a naval base in the Western Pacific to enhance
Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of ...
capabilities. The
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
began and the Navy realized it had a need for an air station in the region.
Cubi Point in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
was selected, and civilian contractors were initially approached for the project. After seeing the
Zambales Mountains
The Zambales Mountains is a mountain range on western Luzon island in the Philippines. The mountains separate Luzon's central plain from the South China Sea. Its most prominent section is known as the Cabusilan Mountain Range composed of Mount ...
and the surrounding
jungle
A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century.
Etymology
The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaá ...
, they claimed it could not be done.
The U.S. Navy then turned to the
Seabees and was told this would not be a problem. The first Seabees to arrive were
surveyors of Construction Battalion Detachment 1802.
Mobile Construction Battalion 3 arrived on 2 October 1951 to get the project going and was joined by MCB 5 in November. Over the next five years, MCBs 2, 7, 9, 11 and CBD 1803 also contributed to the effort. They leveled a mountain to make way for a nearly runway. NAS Cubi Point turned out to be one of the largest earth-moving projects in the world, equivalent to the construction of the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
. Seabees there moved of dry fill plus another 15 million that was
hydraulic fill.
The $100 million-facility (equivalent to $ million in ) was commissioned on 25 July 1956, and comprised an air station with an adjacent pier capable of docking the Navy's largest carriers. After decades of use by American forces,
Mount Pinatubo
Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains, located on the tripoint boundary of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga, all in Central Luzon on the northern island of Luzon. Its eruptive histor ...
erupted in 1991, burying Cubi Point in of
ash. Despite this, the American government wished to keep the Subic Naval Base and signed a treaty with the Philippine government.
The treaty was not ratified, however, failing by a slim margin in the
Philippine Senate
The Senate of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives a ...
. Attempts to negotiate a new treaty were soon abandoned and the United States was informed that it was to withdraw within one year. U.S. forces withdrew in November 1992, turning over the facility with its airport to the Philippine government.
Initially some 8,000 volunteers guarded the facility and prevented looters from damaging the facilities. The
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority
The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (abbreviated as "SBMA", fil, Pangasiwaang Panlungsod ng Subic Bay) is a governmental agency of the Philippines. Sometimes abbreviated as SBMA, the agency has played a significant part in the development of t ...
(SBMA) was created to manage the facility by virtue of
Republic Act
This article contains a partial list of Philippine laws.
Sources of Philippine laws
;Notes
: *Customs may be considered as supplementary source of law, however, customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not be ...
No. 7227
after intense lobbying of then-Mayor
Richard Gordon. He was appointed its first Chairman and Administrator.
Twenty days after the departure of American forces, the airport ushered in its first
commercial flight
Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation.
Definition
Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and aer ...
from
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
via
Makung
Magong ( POJ: ''Má-keng'') is a county-administered city and seat of Penghu County, Taiwan. Magong City is located on Penghu's main island.
Name
The settlement's temple honoring the Chinese Goddess Mazu, the deified form of Lin Monia ...
. In February 1993, NAS Cubi Point was converted to Cubi Point International Airport. To herald its designation as an
international airport,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Fidel V. Ramos
Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...
chose to arrive in November 1993 from an official visit to the United States using the airport.
This flight also proved the capabilities of the airport as the President arrived aboard the delivery flight of
Philippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines (PAL), a trade name of PAL Holdings, Inc. (Philippine Stock Exchange, PSEPAL (Philippine Air Lines until 1970), is the flag carrier airline of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Cen ...
's first
Boeing 747-400.
Construction of the present runway by
Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines
Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines, known as HHIC Phil, was established in February 2006 by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction of South Korea. In the same month, the first ship building contract was signed for 4 contain ...
began in 1993 and was completed in April 1995, in time for the inaugural landing of
FedEx Express
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the na ...
MD-11 and the formal opening of FedEx's AsiaOne hub. The newly renamed Subic Bay International Airport was formally opened on 30 September 1996.
The new 12.6-million passenger terminal built by Summa Kumagai Inc. (a joint Filipino-Japanese venture) was inaugurated on 4 November 1996, in time for the
4th APEC Leaders' Summit.
Between 1992 and 1995 SBIA welcomed a total of around 100,000 commercial passengers.
[ The airport was expected to handle 110,000 passengers in 1996.][ In 1997, SBIA topped the 100,000 annual passenger count. For the year 1998, the airport handled a total of around 1,000 international and 6,000 domestic flights, and almost 100,000 inbound and outbound passengers.] By 2007 the number of recorded passengers had dropped to 17,648, but due to the presence of the FedEx AsiaOne Hub the airport still handled 115,108 flights.
The FedEx hub lasted until February 2009, when all operations were moved to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, China. Due to this departure, as well as the planned expansion of nearby Clark International Airport
Clark International Airport ( pam, Pangyatung Sulapawan ning Clark; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Clark; ), known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport from 2003 to 2012, is an international airport covering portions of the cities of ...
, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator and CEO Armand C. Arreza expressed interest in closing Subic Bay International Airport in favor of converting the area to a logistics hub in January 2010.
In December 2010, Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
-based Aviation Concepts Inc. set up fixed-base operations at the airport, refurbishing a hangar to international standards, with the aim of eventually establishing a full-service aviation center.
In 2016, the airport began to once again be used for daily commercial passenger flights, with Air Juan flying their nine-seater amphibious aircraft to and from their private seaplane base in Manila South Harbor
The Port of Manila ( fil, Pantalan ng Maynila) refers to the collective facilities and terminals that process maritime trade function in harbors in Metro Manila. Located in the Port Area and Tondo districts of Manila, Philippines facing the M ...
, located north of the CCP Complex.
In 2018, Razon Group acquired Aviation Concepts Technical Services, Inc. (ACTSI) and signed a 25-year lease agreement (as well as a 25-year option) with the local government that will see the airport transformed into a regional business aviation hub, with a fifty plus years potential. The company is refurbishing its facility and targeting to its premiere upgrade in the third quarter of 2019.
In July 2021, the airport was used again for repatriation flights of Overseas Filipino Worker
Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million be ...
s (OFW) which were facilitated by Philippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines (PAL), a trade name of PAL Holdings, Inc. (Philippine Stock Exchange, PSEPAL (Philippine Air Lines until 1970), is the flag carrier airline of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Cen ...
. The activity led to the revival of a commercial flight schedule for the first time since 2011 despite the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Repatriation flights to the airport ended on 22 February 2022 after capacity restrictions at Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...
were eased.
Airlines and destinations
Cargo airlines
FedEx Express
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the na ...
closed its hub at Subic Bay on 6 February 2009; this was the first hub to be closed in FedEx's history. The hub operation was relocated to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China and while ground and technical operations were transferred to Clark International Airport
Clark International Airport ( pam, Pangyatung Sulapawan ning Clark; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Clark; ), known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport from 2003 to 2012, is an international airport covering portions of the cities of ...
in Clark Freeport Zone
The Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone (CFEZ), often shortened to Clark, refers to an area in Central Luzon, Philippines.
The CFEZ in Pampanga covers portions of the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat and portions of the town of Porac whil ...
. FedEx's support company, Corporate Air
Corporate Air is an airline based in Billings, Montana, United States. It was established in 1981 and operates primarily domestic scheduled cargo services, Feeder service on behalf of FedEx Express, as well as the United States Postal Service. I ...
, ceased all operations after the hub closure.
Flight training
* ACE Pilots Aviation Academy
* Aero Equipment Aviation Inc.
* Alpha Aviation Group
* APG International Aviation Academy
* Asian Institute Of Aviation
* First Aviation Academy Inc.
* Laminar Aviation, Inc.
* OMNI Aviation Corporation
The airport is also a base of a flight school Aeroflite Aviation Corp since 2006.
Events
Subic Bay International Airport hosted a number of wide-bodied aircraft during the seventh APEC
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Summit in 1996. They included a chartered Royal Brunei Airlines
Royal Brunei Airlines Sdn Bhd (RB) ( ms, Penerbangan DiRaja Brunei, Jawi: ) is the national flag carrier airline of Brunei Darussalam, headquartered in the RB Campus in Bandar Seri Begawan. It is wholly owned by the Government of Brunei Da ...
Airbus A340-200
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus.
In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel wi ...
, Japanese Air Force One
The Japanese Air Force One and Japanese Air Force Two
are the radio callsigns of the two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft used by the government of Japan for overseas travel by the Emperor, Prime Minister and other high-ranking officials. Each aircraft ...
, and the Air Force One, among others.
Incidents and accidents
On October 18, 1999, FedEx Express Flight 87, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by American McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing.
Following DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 program was launched on December 30, 1986.
Assembly of t ...
, suffered an accident. The plane was arriving from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is one of the two international airports of Shanghai and a significant airline hub of China. Hongqiao Airport mainly serves domestic and regional flights, although the airport also serves international fl ...
; during the flight there was moderate turbulence and the crew failed to see an error in the airspeed. This meant that the plane landed at too high a speed. Upon landing at Subic Bay's runway 07, the plane continued on onto runway 25, hitting a concrete post and slamming into a wire fence before plunging into the bay. All of the plane was submerged except the cockpit. The crew were safe apart from minor injuries but the aircraft was no longer usable.
References
External links
SBMA official website: Subic Bay International Airport
{{authority control
Airports in the Philippines
Buildings and structures in Bataan
Olongapo
Transportation in Bataan
Transportation in Zambales
Tourism in Metro Manila
Transportation in Luzon
Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone