Early history

The site of the current airport was originally a World War II airfield constructed in 1942. It was called Cabatuan Airfield after its location by the Japanese forces which operated it during the war. It was also referred to as Tiring Landing Field (TLF) by others but this is an inaccurate name as the airfield had installations in other Cabatuan, Iloilo barrios as well. Another erroneous name was Santa Barbara Airfield, erroneous as the airfield was not located in the neighboring town. The Japanese forces operated Cabatuan Airfield from 1942 until their retreat in 1945, and it was also the site of the official Japanese surrender on Panay on September 2, 1945.

Situation at Mandurriao Airport

Prior to the construction of Iloilo International Airport, Iloilo City was served by Mandurriao Airport, located in the Mandurriao district of Iloilo City, which had been in operation since 1937. Though continually expanded in order to accommodate the changing demands of the city throughout much of its history, Iloilo City's rapid urbanization had made this feat impossible by the 1990s. The 2,202-square-meter (23,700 sq ft) terminal building, constructed in 1982 to handle the passenger demands of a single airline, (Philippine Airlines, being the Philippines' aviation monopoly at the time), was unable to cope with the liberalization of the Philippine aviation industry and the subsequent boom in air travel, when as many as four airlines served the airport at the same time and where the passenger terminal needed to have an area of at least 7,800 square meters (84,000 sq ft) in order to absorb all peak-hour demand.

The airport's problems continued to linger with it into the new millennium. The increasing incidence of terrorism in the Philippines for example forced aviation officials to restrict airport access only to passengers, the sealing of doors and windows at airport terminals being an essential component thereof. However, the airport's architecture (which took advantage of natural ventilation) and lack of air conditioning made the airport's pre-departure and arrival areas very uncomfortable for passengers to stay in. To counteract this, the Air Transportation Office (the forerunner of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) installed six air-conditioning units at the pre-departure area. Although the installed units were able to provide a degree of comfort to passengers, the ATO recognized that their efforts were inadequate: in order to effectively provide a comfortable environment for passengers throughout the entire terminal building, twenty-three air conditioners needed to be installed. Passenger complaints meanwhile were not limited to just the lack of air conditioning: despite the existence of a baggage X-ray machine, passengers flying other airlines were forced to have their baggage manually checked as the machine was ostensibly for the sole use of Philippine Airlines passengers.

In addition to problems with the terminal building, both the airport's location and surrounding infrastructure were the subject of much complaint as well. For one, although some 1,700 cars visited the airport daily, the parking lot had only 129 slots, and could not be expanded any further. The airport complex likewise was located directly alongside major city thoroughfares, in particular the city's main highway, the Tomas Confesor Highway, which complicated the flow of traffic in and around the area. At one point, the ATO, which was already having difficulty managing vehicular traffic around the airport, proposed banning cargo and delivery trucks from passing through the road in front of the terminal building. However, the city government did not respond.

Beset with a myriad of problems, authorities eventually concluded that a new airport had to be built outside the city, selecting the municipality of Cabatuan as the site of the new Iloilo International Airport. The airport's location was also the site of Cabatuan Airfield, a World War II airfield built primarily in Barangay Tiring but also spread out to adjacent Barangays Duyan-Duyan, Gaub, Tabucan, and Manguna, all located in the same municipality.

Planning and construction

In October 1995, the Iloilo city government announced its intention to construct a new airport outside the city in cooperation with the private sector. Although two sites were initially proposed: north of the city in Cabatuan and south of the city in the province of Guimaras, the ATO decided to keep the airport in Iloilo, citing the lack of demand in Guimaras to justify construction there. The Regional Development Council for Western Visayas (RDC) later endorsed the project to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for its approval in July 1997.