Although it was not yet a commercial flight, Philippine Airlines recently returned to the place where it all began. PAL conducted a test flight to Baguio on November 28, just days before its first commercial flight on December 16. The last PAL plane to land at Loakan Airport was 24 years ago.
The test flight, which used a De Havilland Dash 8 400 with the registration RP-C5903, took off from Manila at 10:39 a.m. and landed at Loakan Airport at 11:30 a.m. This was a flashback to my first plane ride in 1986, from Manila to Baguio on a PAL HS748.
PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said, “This successful test flight is the culmination of months of preparation among all industry stakeholders to make the return to Baguio by the flag carrier a reality.
“Philippine Airlines management, DOTr – CAAP and Baguio LGU have been working together to make this test flight happen and it was indeed a smooth journey.”
On December 16, PAL will begin four times weekly flights between Cebu and Baguio.
It all started in Baguio
On March 15, 1941, PAL made its first flight from Manila to Baguio. A Beech Model 18 took off from Nielsen Field in Manila and landed at Baguio’s Loakan Airport. Since then, PAL has continued to operate flights between Manila and Baguio until 1998, when PAL transitioned to an all-jet fleet.
Just nine months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the following year, the Beech Model 18, registered NPC-54, began daily flights from Manila’s Nielson Airfield to Baguio.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
