Laguindingan International Airport — Laguindingan, Philippines

Laguindingan International Airport opened in the early 2010s to replace the old Lumbia airfield inside Cagayan de Oro, a hilltop runway that safety authorities had long considered dangerously short and hemmed in by rising terrain for modern jet operations. The new coastal site, roughly halfway between Cagayan de Oro and Iligan along Macajalar Bay, gave northern Mindanao a runway long enough for narrow-body jets and unlocked direct service to Manila, Cebu, and other major Philippine hubs without the operational restrictions that had limited the old field. Named for the municipality of Laguindingan rather than for either nearby city, the airport now functions as the primary gateway for a broad swath of northern Mindanao, supporting the agricultural and light-industrial economy of Misamis Oriental province. Mountains rise inland from the runway, while the waters of Macajalar Bay stretch out just to the north, giving arriving passengers a dramatic first look at the region's coastal and highland geography side by side.