Access to Banaue Rice Terraces, an “8th Wonder of the World”, has been made faster with the opening of flights linking Bagabag Airport in Nueva Viscaya from Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
Visits to the famed man-made rice terraces created by the Ifugao tribes over 2,000 years ago can now be done via the Batanes-based airline Wakay Air Services after it started regular charter flights from Clark Int’l Airport in May.
The Banaue Rice Terraces World Heritage Sites are now just five hours away from Manila via Wakay Air. The land drive usually takes 10-12 hours. Bagabag, the closest public airport to the Rice Terraces, is a 30-minute flight from Clark Pampanga.
The Department of Tourism announced the opening of the flights and encouraged tourists to visit the Cordillera provinces of Ifugao and Mountain Province during June to July before harvest, and January to March before cleaning and planting.
Wakay Air operations manager James Ong said the Clark-Bagabag flights will generate investment opportunities for Northern Luzon, according to an Inquirer article.
The Bagabag Airport is classified as a community airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines under the Department of Transportation and Communication.
