Mati Airport ( ceb, Tugpahanan sa Mati; fil, Paliparan ng Mati; ), formerly Imelda R. Marcos Airport, is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

that serves the general area of Mati, the capital city of the province of Davao Oriental 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 ...

. It is the only airport in Davao Oriental. The airport is classified as a secondary airport by the

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP, ; fil, Pangasiwaan sa Abyasyong Sibil ng Pilipinas) is the civil aviation authority of the Philippines and is responsible for implementing policies on civil aviation to assure safe, econo ...

, a body of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) 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. There are no commercial flights serving Mati. The airport only accommodates chartered flights and light planes.

History

The airport was built in the 1980s under the administration of former Davao Oriental governor Francisco Rabat as a gift to the province by former Philippine president and dictator

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

and was named after his wife

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictato ...

. It was built on a property owned by the Rabat and Rocamora families. Since there is no deeds of donation executed to transfer the associated properties from the two families to the government, the airport could not be used for commercial flights. It was later renamed as the Mati Airport. Around the 2010s, the airport is used by the Mindanao Saga Flying Club to provide aerial views of Mati to tourists. There were efforts to revive the airport in the late 2010s. By 2019, the DOTr had allocated ₱200 million for the airport development. which include rehabilitation and construction of the runway, fencing, and upgrading of passenger terminal. Renovations were planned to commence in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

{{authority control Airports in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Davao Oriental Transportation in Mindanao