Daniel Z.

Romualdez Airport
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Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport

Paliparang Daniel Z. Romualdez
Luparan Daniel Z. Romualdez

Exterior of Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport

IATA: TAC ICAO: RPVA

Summary

Airport type

Operator

Serves

Location

Elevation AMSL

Coordinates

Public

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines

Tacloban City

Barangay Costa Brava, San Jose, Tacloban City

3 m / 10 ft

111339N 1250140E

Map

TAC/RPVA
Location within the Philippines

Runways

Direction

18/36

Length

Surface

ft

2,138

7,014

Asphalt

Statistics (2012)

Passengers

1,140,000

Aircraft movements

10,030

Metric tonnes of cargo

6,544

Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport (Filipino: Paliparang Daniel Z. Romualdez, Waray-Waray:Luparan Daniel Z.

Romualdez) (IATA: TAC, ICAO: RPVA), also known as DZR Airport orTacloban Domestic Airport, is
an airport serving the general area of Tacloban City, inLeyte, Philippines. It is the main gateway
from Manila and Cebu to the Eastern Visayas Region in central Philippines. It is a Class 1 principal (major
domestic) airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the agency responsible for the operations of
all the airports in the Philippines excluding the major international airports. As of 2013, Daniel Z. Romualdez

Airport is ranked as the 8th busiest airport by passenger volume out of the 45 commercial airports in
the Philippines.
The airport is named after Daniel Z. Romualdez, a former speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives.
It is one of two airports in the Philippines named after a member of the Romualdez family, the other
being Imelda R. Marcos Airport in Mati City after Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, the wife of the late
president Ferdinand Marcos.
Contents
[hide]

1 History

1.1 During World War II

1.2 Post-war

1.3 Present

1.4 Devastation by Haiyan

2 Airlines and Destinations

3 Facilities

3.1 Terminal

3.2 Communications Tower

3.3 Administrative Building

4 Statistics

5 Ground transportation

6 Future development

7 Incidents

8 See also

9 References

10 External links

History[edit]
During World War II[edit]
First known as San Jose Airstrip after the village it is located in, it was constructed as an airstrip for the U.S. air
forces during World War II.

Aerial view of Tacloban Airfield

US P-38 in flames after a Japanese air raid on Tacloban

USAAF units based here included:

43d Bombardment Wing (15 November 1944 16 March 1945)

345th Bombardment Group (1 January 13 February 1945)

417th Bombardment Group (6 December22, 1944)

49th Fighter Group (24 October 30 December 1944)

348th Fighter Group (16 November 1944 4 February 1945)

421st Night Fighter Squadron (25 October 1944 8 February 1945)

547th Night Fighter Squadron (9 November 1944 11 January 1945)

Post-war[edit]
It became known popularly as Tacloban Airport when commercial aviation began at the airport. The airport was
given its current name in honor of Daniel Z. Romualdez, the representative from Leyte who became speaker of
the House of Representatives. He was the uncle of Imelda Romualdez Marcos, the wife of president Ferdinand
E. Marcos.

Present[edit]
Today, Daniel Z. Romualdez serves as the primary gateway to Eastern Visayas.

Devastation by Haiyan[edit]
On November 7-8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan roared through Tacloban and the Eastern Visayas Region. The
Tacloban Airport was effectively destroyed by winds averaging to 195 mph and a 13 ft (4 m) storm surge. The
airport terminal and the control tower were utterly demolished, and the airport was rendered unusable.
However, on 11 November, the airport reopened, but for turboprop aircraft only.[1] The airport has now since
been reopened again to A320s regularly serving the airport. [2]

Airlines and Destinations[edit]

Airlines

Destinations

AirAsia Zest

Manila

Cebu Pacific

Cebu, Manila

Philippine Airlines
operated by PAL Express

Cebu, Manila

Operations of TigerAir Philippines & Cebu Pacific's Tacloban to Iloilo route has been ceased after Super
Typhoon Haiyan.

Facilities[edit]
Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport includes a single-story terminal building, a communications tower and an
administrative building. In 2013, the proposed construction of new terminal created a buzz with the withdrawal
of the budget and realigned into the Disbursement Acceleration Program of the government. [3]

Terminal[edit]

The single-story terminal building consists of the departure and arrival area. The departure area has one
boarding gate, scanners, and a souvenir counter. The arrival area consists of a single baggage carousel, and a
porters' assistance desk.

Communications Tower[edit]
The communications tower is located on the east end of the terminal building. It serves as the main
communications facility of the airport.

Administrative Building[edit]
The administrative building houses the offices of airport staff and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Statistics[edit]
Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport is one of the top 10 busiest airports in the Philippines by passenger traffic with an
annual average increase of 2.6 percent in the last 10 years. As of 2013, it holds the 8th spot among commercial
airports in the country.

Passenger
Movement

Year

2001

299,292

2002

303,490

2003

283,573

2004

289,669

2005

328,358

2006

399,885

2007

511,322

2008

627,108

Passenger
Movement

Year

2009

892,425

2010

907,347

2011

1,015,797

2012

1,140,000 [4]

Ground transportation[edit]
Access to the airport from central Tacloban City is served by the jeepney services on the Downtown-San JoseAirport route, from Marasbaras route, and the service from nearby Palo. In 2010, an airport taxi service was
opened to shuttle passengers from the airport to the city's Central Bus Terminal, the city's commercial area and
other destinations such as the San Juanico Bridge and theMacArthur Landing Memorial in Palo and to
Tacloban City's suburbs.

Future development[edit]
A new terminal building has been proposed by the city government of Tacloban, to replace the current building.
The new terminal, which would cost 300 to 350 million pesos, will be built through a Build-OperateTransfer scheme. Around 500 million pesos was allocated for the terminal's construction, with the city
government collecting a share of current terminal fees to shoulder its expenses in constructing the new
terminal.[5]
In Aug 2012, The Department of Transportation and Communications as part of the P319 million modernization
of the Tacloban andDipolog airports allocated P251.6 million for the Tacloban Airport to construct a new apron
and taxiway. The allocation also involves the completion of the north-east shore protection with shoulder grade
correction, the construction of a drainage system with box culverts, and the construction of temporary
transition.[6]
In September 13, 2012, the Budget department has released P4.6 billion to support the public-private
partnership (PPP) projects of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC). Of the total, the
Tacloban City Airport will receive P800 million to help it accommodate the growing air traffic by developing the
terminal building and other ancillary facilities.[7]

Incidents[edit]

On 4 August 1984, a Philippine Airlines flight overshot runway 36 and landed in the sea. All 70
passengers and five crew survived.[8]

On February 13, 2009, a Cebu Pacific plane engine sucked a bird into its engine damaging the blades.
[9]

On 7 May 2010, a Cebu Pacific ATR 72-500, while parked and finishing boarding procedures for its
Tacloban-Cebu flight (5J-429), was hit at the wingtip by an incoming Philippine Airlines Airbus A320214 which was taxiing after arriving from Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.[10]

On 8 November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) destroyed the airport's terminal building.[11] The
airport has now since been reopened again to A320s regularly serving the airport.