Cagayan North International Airport is to see its first international flights with the introduction of a chartered Macau International service, the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) has announced. The airport is a public-private joint venture between CEZA and the Cagayan Land Property Development Corp (CLPDC). It has recently undergone a USD35.2 million upgrade, with a new 2,100 metre main runway 01/19.

"With this modernized airport facility, the interconnection between the Freeport and the biggest ports and markets of East Asia and the South Pacific is now possible," said CEZA CEO, Raul Lambino.

The municipality in which the airport is located will also shortly be incorporated into the expanded Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport, an area which provides tax incentives and relaxed gaming laws. It is expected that additional connections could be added to regional countries such as Japan, Singapore, mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

The airport, located at the far northern tip of the Philippine archipelago, approximately 500 kilometres from the Port of Kaohsiung in Taiwan, has no known scheduled operations.