Plaridel Airport (

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

: ''Paliparan ng Plaridel'') 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 ...

serving the general area of Plaridel, located in the province of

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Me ...

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

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 that is responsible for the operations for 81 out of 85 government-owned airports, manages the facility and classifies it as a community airport. It is the only public airport in the

Mega Manila Mega Manila is a megalopolis on the island of Luzon, Philippines. There are varying definitions of the megalopolis, but it is generally seen as encompassing the administrative regions of Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Metro Manila. On some o ...

area solely dedicated to

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

. Among community airports it is one of the few which has

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...

s that extend to the ends of a runway.

History

The airport was opened in 1935 and was extensively used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when it was used as a ground for training fighter pilots. Today, the airport is still used extensively as a training facility for all types of pilots, whether civil, commercial or military. Several

aviation school Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a st ...

s are found within the immediate vicinity of the airport. The airport is also a popular landing site for amateur pilots and aviation enthusiasts. The airport is remembered as a historical landmark — one of the few airports in the Philippines with such a designation.

Incidents and accidents

*Plaridel Airport was temporarily closed on July 9, 2007, following a crash involving two

Cessna 150 The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 22-23. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. In 19 ...

s that killed three persons: an instructor and a student from WCC Aviation School, and another student, Varsha Gopinanth, an Indian national and student at the Phoenix Aviation School. Both planes were headed 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 ...

when they collided over Purok Ilang-Ilang, Barangay Ligas,

Malolos Malolos, officially the City of Malolos ( fil, Lungsod ng Malolos), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people. It is the capital city ...

at 12:55 p.m PST. *On March 17, 2018, 10 people which includes all 5 passengers and crew on the aircraft and a further 5 people on ground, were killed after a

Piper PA-32 The Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six is a series of single-engine, fixed landing gear, light aircraft manufactured in the United States by Piper Aircraft between 1965 and 2007.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 63. Werner & Werner Cor ...

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...

into a residential area near the airport shortly after takeoff. *On September 17, 2021, a

Cessna 152 The Cessna 152 is an American two-seat, fixed- tricycle-gear, general aviation airplane, used primarily for flight training and personal use. It was based on the earlier Cessna 150 incorporating a number of minor design changes and a slightly ...

plane with two pilots crashed in a vacant lot near the airport. Both pilots were injured, but managed to survive the crash.

References

{{authority control Airports in the Philippines Transportation in Bulacan Buildings and structures in Bulacan Transportation in Luzon