Despite plans to upgrade the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport, popularly known as Caticlan Airport, it remains unwelcoming to travelers, as passengers still have to walk after deplaning and baggage retrieval takes time.

The long-promised modernization of the airport in Caticlan Island, gateway to the island paradise of Boracay, remains elusive, as construction of the new facility appears to be off track.

Business mogul and San Miguel Corporation chairman Ramon Ang, through SMC subsidiary Trans Aire Development Holdings Corp., in partnership with the Department of Transportation (DoTr), committed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last July to modernize the gateway’s infrastructure.

SMC earmarked a P2.5-billion rehabilitation fund for the airport, but travelers are still waiting for a facility that allows for hassle-free arrivals and departures.

The slow progress in Caticlan has made aviation and infrastructure experts skeptical about SMC’s ability to manage larger airport projects, such as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), whose operations and management concession it recently won through public bidding.

“How did they win the bid for NAIA when the Caticlan Airport is deteriorating? What’s happening is they’re increasing the fees at NAIA to raise funds for the continuation of the Caticlan Airport construction. Smart move, right?!” an airport expert told Nosy Tarsee.

Last August, several groups petitioned the Supreme Court to void the public-private partnership agreement between the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and San Miguel Corporation’s New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC).

They challenged the validity of MIAA’s Revised Administrative Order 1, Series of 2024, and the concession agreement with NNIC, arguing that these measures allowed government agencies to bypass public participation and due process by approving sweeping airport fee hikes.