Bataraza, PH 🇵🇭 Closed Airport
PH-0568
-
52 ft
PH-PLW
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 8.52386° N, 117.39737° E
Continent: AS
Type: Closed Airport
It appears that specific traveler reviews and experiences for Taratak Airfield (PH-0568) in Bataraza, PH are not readily available in public search results. This suggests that Taratak Airfield may be a private or very small airfield with limited or no commercial passenger operations, which typically generate public traveler reviews.
Due to the lack of available information, it is not possible to summarize overall traveler sentiment, details on terminal facilities, security wait times, customs/immigration experience, or transportation connections and parking. Therefore, no specific strengths or common complaints from travelers can be identified.
In conclusion, without public traveler reviews or experiences, a summary of traveler sentiment and specific details regarding facilities and services at Taratak Airfield (PH-0568) cannot be provided.
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Approximately mid-to-late 2000s. The airfield was rendered obsolete and closed following the construction and opening of the new, modern Rio Tuba Airport (ICAO: RPUR, IATA: RXT) a few kilometers to the southeast. Satellite imagery shows the old Taratak runway was still clear in the early 2000s but fell into disuse as the new airport became fully operational.
Replacement and Modernization. The primary reason for closure was its replacement by the new Rio Tuba Airport (RPUR). Taratak Airfield was a basic, likely unpaved or gravel airstrip with limited facilities. The new airport was built to higher standards with a paved runway, modern navigation aids, and better terminal facilities to safely accommodate larger, more modern aircraft and handle the increasing logistical demands of the Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation and the growing community.
The site is permanently closed and has been repurposed. The former runway is no longer usable for aviation. It is heavily overgrown with vegetation, and a significant portion of the southern half of the runway area is now occupied by the Rio Tuba Solar Power Plant, a large-scale solar farm that supplies power to the mining operations and local community. The remaining land is unused.
Taratak Airfield was a private corporate airstrip owned and operated by the Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation (RTNMC), a major nickel producer in the Philippines. Its sole purpose was to support the mining operations in the remote municipality of Bataraza. The airfield was a critical logistical link, used for transporting company personnel, executives, high-value cargo, and spare parts between the mine site and major cities like Manila and Puerto Princesa. It also served a vital role in medical evacuations. Operations were limited to small, short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) capable aircraft, such as Cessnas and other light propeller planes suitable for a basic airstrip.
Zero. There are no plans or prospects for reopening Taratak Airfield. Its function has been entirely and permanently superseded by the operational Rio Tuba Airport (RPUR). The construction of the solar farm directly on the former runway makes its reactivation as an airfield physically impossible.