Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Banoy Lopez, alongside a team of key aviation and transportation officials, conducted an extensive, on-site inspection of the General Santos International Airport to assess the structural damage caused by yesterday’s powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
The immediate inspection is a direct order from the President to prioritize public safety and quickly support critical disaster response in the affected region.
While the airport remains strictly closed to all commercial flights until comprehensive structural integrity assessments are completed, Secretary Lopez emphasized that the facility is not entirely shut down.
“Per the President’s explicit instructions, General Santos International Airport will remain open to all government, military, and humanitarian flights,” Secretary Lopez stated. “Our priority is to ensure that the lifeline for relief operations, medical evacuations, and the deployment of emergency personnel remains completely uninterrupted.”
-
Structural Assessment: DOTr engineers and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) specialists are currently evaluating the runway, passenger terminal building, and control tower for potential compromised integrity.
-
Safety First: Commercial operations will only resume once the DOTr and structural experts issue a definitive safety clearance.
-
Coordinated Response: The DOTr is working in close coordination with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and local government units (LGUs) to streamline the arrival of incoming relief supplies.
The DOTr urges the traveling public to check with their respective airlines for rebooking, cancellation, or rerouting options. Updates regarding the airport’s operational status will be released as soon as verified data from the engineering teams becomes available.
