After landing at Tacloban Airport during one trip last April, I took a few photos as our plane was taxiing towards the airport terminal. Following are those photos with annotations/comments.

A view of the runway as our plane turned to taxi towards the airport passenger terminal. The terminal is somewhat visible in the photo. The control tower can be seen just to the right of the Cebu Pacific plane that arrived ahead of us.

Philippine Air Force buildings at the Tacloban Airport – you tend to wonder how we can defend our country when there are no aircraft at an air force base facing the Pacific Ocean. I remembered seeing impressive planes and helicopters of the Japanese Self Defense Forces and US Marines lined up along the tarmac at Okinawa.

Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles are always ready (SOP) for whatever incident may happen during aircraft take-offs and landings. You just wonder if they have sufficient skill and equipment to handle the more serious cases.

Air traffic control tower at Tacloban Airport

The Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport terminal building

From the looks of it, the terminal has seen better days and badly needs repairs/renovations.

Passengers file towards the arrival area to await their baggage before exiting the terminal to proceed to their respective destinations. Many passengers may not necessarily be heading to Tacloban or other towns in Leyte but will cross over to Samar, which is physically connected to Leyte via the San Juanico Bridge. Tacloban has more regular flights in the region and is the best bet for people opting for flexibility in their travel schedules.

Baggage claim is similar to other old airports around the country. With passenger arrivals well above 1 million per year, Tacloban, which is the principal airport in Region VIII (Eastern Visayas), needs an upgrade.

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