ATO to build new waiting shed at Davao airport

DAVAO CITY — The Air Transportation Office (ATO) is set to construct a new waiting shed at the Davao International Airport after a powerful bomb ripped through the old shed last March 4, killing 22 people and wounding 159 others.

Frederick San Felix, the ATO’s Southern Mindanao manager, said a new waiting shed is badly needed at the airport, especially during summer when the exodus of passengers mounts.

The old waiting shed, located directly across the arrival area of the passenger terminal, was demolished after the bombing although a portion of it is left for a memorial for those who died in the tragedy.

Most of the fatalities were relatives of passengers of a Cebu Pacific flight that arrived at about 5 p.m. of March 4.

San Felix said the new waiting shed would just be made of iron frame with canvass material as roofing.

Since the passenger terminal would be transferred to its new facility by the yearend, San Felix said there would be no need for a permanent structure.

The new P4.9-billion Davao airport, located just across the existing one, will begin operations by August.

Security at the Davao airport has been heightened following the March 4 bombing. The regional police command has fielded more law enforcers there as well as in other vital facilities such as oil depots, ports and bus terminals. — Edith Regalado