I was back in Roxas City a week ago for a quick meeting to discuss a proposed central public transport terminal for the city. We flew into Roxas City via Philippine Airlines, arriving just before 6:30 AM. I took some photos as we deplaned and while exiting through the arrival area of the airport. Following are recent photos taken at the airport.

Airport terminal as it appears to the traveler as one emerges from the plane to descent the stairs to the tarmac.Conspicuous under the airport’s name is the information that the terminal is 2.80m above mean sea level. This is probably related to disaster mitigation and management for info for people flying in to provide support.

Baggage handling from the aircraft – baggage is handled with care unlike how it’s shown in some video circulating around the internet. The cone is one of several that are supposed to mark the restricted areas around the aircraft where passengers may not pass through.

The arrival area is small like those of most domestic terminals and is just enough to handle the few daily flights that service Roxas City.

The arrival area cannot fit all the passengers and the porters who typically assist those with luggage or baggage. In fact, much of the area is eaten up by the conveyor system. Note, too, the dart board on the wall on the upper right of the photo. Staff on break probably play darts to while away their time.

Porters in purple shirts gather outside the arrival area as passengers file out of the terminal. Airport staff will signal to the porters once the first bag is on the conveyor following a simple system to avoid overcrowding at the arrival area.

The departure wing that includes the check-in counters for the airlines may be accessed through a secure gate. The security personnel are courteous and efficient.

People waiting for relatives, friends or clients at one of the sheds constructed for well-wishers or those fetching passengers. The parking areas are designated for taxis and rental cars.

After our meeting with city officials, we were back again at the airport to catch the afternoon flight back to Manila. This time, we took Cebu Pacific as it fit our schedule so we could be back in Manila by late afternoon.

Check-in counter for Cebu Pacific – the staff accepted our boarding passes and seem to be surprised we had already checked-in online.

After checking-in, passengers pay the 30 Peso terminal fee at a nearby counter.

After passing through the final security check, one can wait for boarding at the pre-departure area where seats were apparently marked by the airline who provided them. These are the older fiberglass seats that are common in many domestic terminals.

The newer metallic seats seem more comfortable. We checked-in early so there were few passengers in the area when I took the photos. Notice the gleaming floor? They replaced the old dark tiles with these that made the area brighter and more neat-looking.

Final security barrier/check as seen from inside the pre-departure area.

Another look at the metallic seats, this time with passengers waiting for our return aircraft to arrive.

Concessionaire in the terminal – this is the last place where one can buy pasalubong. I was disappointed, though, to see that the products being sold were from Guimaras rather than from Roxas or Capiz.

Stairs for boarding the aircraft – to expedite the boarding process, a second set of stairs is provided for rear entrance. Passengers are sorted before boarding for those who are to use the front and aft doors.

There are plans to upgrade Roxas Airport. It currently has a relatively short runway that allows for A320 or A319 aircraft operations, but landings and take-offs must be quite precise as they practically use up the entire length of the runway. It also has to improve the capacity of both its departure and arrival areas given the tendency for overcrowding even though it seems the terminal only handles one aircraft at a time, unlike other busier airports such as Iloilo and Bacolod. And oh, the toilets are clean and well-maintained. In fact, the Secretary of Transportation who is from the city and bears its name (the former president was his grandfather) uses the toilets himself so if its good enough for him, its probably good enough for most other people using the airport toilets.

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