# Tuguegarao Airport

Tuguegarao Airport (IATA: TUG, ICAO: RPUT) is an airport serving the general area of Tuguegarao, the capital city of the province of Cagayan in the Philippines. Located along Maharlika Highway, the airport is accessible from adjacent municipalities in Cagayan and northern Isabela. It is classified as a major commercial domestic airport by the Air Transportation Office.
The airport is currently served by Cebu Pacific, Sky Pasada, and Philippine Airlines with regular and charter flights to Manila, Calayan, Batanes, and Isabela. In 2023, Tuguegarao Airport recorded annual passenger traffic of 225,961, a 52.8% increase from the previous year.

## Statistics
### Volume of passengers

Data of passenger movements is from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
| Calendar Year | Passenger movement | % Change |
| 2001 | 33,485 | no data |
| 2002 | 27,000 | 19.37% |
| 2003 | 17,786 | 34.13% |
| 2004 | 31,973 | 79.76% |
| 2005 | 31,992 | 0.06% |
| 2006 | 29,814 | 6.81% |
| 2007 | 38,123 | 27.87% |
| 2008 | 68,821 | 80.00% |
| 2009 | 94,350 | 37.09% |
| 2010 | 116,525 | 23.50% |
| 2011 | 127,595 | 9.50% |
| 2012 | 223,907 | 75.48% |
| 2013 | 141,151 | 36.96% |
| 2014 | 151,608 | 7.41% |
| 2015 | 129,889 | 14.33% |
| 2016 | 186,193 | 43.35% |
| 2017 | 209,358 | 12.44% |
| 2018 | 384,819 | 83.81% |
| 2019 | 225,747 | 41.34% |
| 2020 | 41,931 | 81.43% |
| 2021 | 21,870 | 47.84% |
| 2022 | 147,865 | 576.11% |
| 2023 | 225,961 | 52.82% |

## Airlines and destinations

| Airlines | Destinations |
| Cebu Pacific | Manila |
| Northsky Air | Charter: Itbayat, Palanan |
| PAL Express | Manila |
| Sky Pasada | Basco, Binalonan, Calayan, Maconacon, Palanan |

## Terminal and apron

The airport consists of a 1,100 square meter terminal with its second floor to be developed during its second phase of rehabilitation— and a 150-meter by 115-meter apron. In 2015, the Department of Transportation and Communications allotted ₱45.99 million for terminal upgrades and another ₱10.67 million for runway and taxiway widening.
On March 14, 2018, the rehabilitated and expanded Passenger Terminal Building was inaugurated by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade. When all the expansions and upgrades were completed, the airport is expected to cater more passenger and aircraft movement as well as safe nighttime operations.

## Expansion and development

In 2015, the Department of Transportation and Communications launched the expansion and modernization program of the Tuguegarao Airport, alongside several key secondary airports in the country. Named as the Tuguegarao Airport Development Project, which consist of ₱10.67 million for taxiway and runway widening and another ₱45.99 million for the terminal upgrades.
As of 2018, Phase 1 was completed which includes the expansion of the passenger terminal building, widening of runway and taxiway and the upgrading of the Airfield Lighting System, necessary for longer night time operations. Phase 2 of the Tuguegarao Airport Development Project, which starts in 2018, covers the expansion of the existing pre-departure and check-in areas of the passenger terminal building and additional check-in counters at the second floor.
The 2024 national budget has allocated ₱150.0 million for the airport's development in time for the projected full recovery of global air traffic in 2025. The airport's new air traffic control tower is currently under construction.

## Accidents and incidents

* On August 1, 2023, a Cessna 152 plane registered as RP-C8598 crashed in Luna, Apayao, taking the lives of its two passengers. The plane, along with a similar aircraft, took off from Laoag at 12:16 PM but only one landed on Tuguegarao at 1:11 PM.