Basco Airport (IATA: BSO, ICAO: RPUO) is an airport serving the province of Batanes in the Philippines. It is located in the provincial capital, Basco. It is one of two airports in the Batanes Islands, the other being Itbayat Airport.
Basco Airport Pagtayaban ti Basco Paliparan ng Basco | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines | ||||||||||
| Serves | Basco | ||||||||||
| Opened | 1930 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 89 m / 291 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 20°27′05″N 121°58′48″E / 20.45139°N 121.98000°E | ||||||||||
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  BSO/RPUO .svg) BSO/RPUO .svg) BSO/RPUO | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2017) | |||||||||||
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Source: Statistics from eFOI[1] | |||||||||||
The airport is classified as a Class 2 principal, minor domestic airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), a body of the Department of Transportation that is responsible for the operations of non-major airports.
The airport is one of the hubs of Sky Pasada.
Although the airport in the past was briefly served by international flights, the airport is not officially classified as an international airport.
History
Basco Airport was first built in 1930 as Batan Airfield. During the Second World War, it became a target of Japanese forces during their invasion of the Philippines, seizing it along with the whole island on the first day of the Pacific War on 8 December 1941. Subsequently, the airfield was bombed by American planes in the closing months of the war in 1945, but the Japanese managed to hold on to it until their official surrender.[2]
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| PAL Express | Clark,[3] Manila[4] |
| Sky Pasada | Tuguegarao, Calayan, Laoag |
| Fliteline Airways | Itbayat, Tuguegarao |
| Aerospeed Air Transport Services | Itbayat |
Statistics
Data from Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines[1]
Passenger movements
| Year | Domestic | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 26,065 |  |
| 2004 | 26,933 |  3.33% |
| 2005 | 25,376 |  5.78% |
| 2006 | 22,748 | 10.36% |
| 2007 | 19,550 | 14.06% |
| 2008 | 24,288 | 24.24% |
| 2009 | 19,308 | 20.50% |
| 2010 | 26,089 | 35.12% |
| 2011 | 28,428 | 8.97% |
| 2012 | 25,588 | 9.99% |
| 2013 | 32,467 | 26.88% |
| 2014 | 60,683 | 86.91% |
| 2015 | 73,541 | 21.19% |
| 2016 | 82,853 | 12.66% |
| 2017 | 104,089 | 25.63% |
Aircraft movements
| Year | Domestic | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 3,322 | |
| 2004 | 2,734 | 17.70% |
| 2005 | 3,240 | 18.51% |
| 2006 | 2,726 | 15.86% |
| 2007 | 1,204 | 55.83% |
| 2008 | 766 | 36.38% |
| 2009 | 1,246 | 62.66% |
| 2010 | 709 | 43.10% |
| 2011 | 1,926 | 171.65% |
| 2012 | 1,934 | 0.42% |
| 2013 | 2,512 | 29.89% |
| 2014 | 1,890 | 24.76% |
| 2015 | 2,160 | 14.29% |
| 2016 | 2,538 | 17.50% |
| 2017 | 2,702 | 6.46% |
Cargo movements
| Year | Domestic (kg) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 247,978 | |
| 2004 | 280,210 | 13.00% |
| 2005 | 346,017 | 23.48% |
| 2006 | 378,055 | 9.26% |
| 2007 | 344,832 | 8.79% |
| 2008 | 301,968 | 12.43% |
| 2009 | 10,980 | 96.36% |
| 2010 | 386,512 | 3,420.15% |
| 2011 | 388,150 | 0.42% |
| 2012 | 361,389 | 6.89% |
| 2013 | 510,172 | 41.17% |
| 2014 | 701,712 | 37.54% |
| 2015 | 866,985 | 23.55% |
| 2016 | 1,122,039 | 29.42% |
| 2017 | 1,299,048 | 15.78% |