As of February 2007, Cebu Pacific had increased its number of flights from Manila to Bacolod.The airport was built by the Lopez family in 1936 to serve the Iloilo–Negros Air Express Company's flights to and from Bacolod, Iloilo and Manila.In 2016, Senator Franklin Drilon suggested to the city government of Bacolod to re-develop the whole airport grounds into a business park, following the success of converting the Mandurriao Airport in Iloilo City into Iloilo Business Park.On March 22, 1998, Philippine Airlines Flight 137, an Airbus A320-200 (RP-C3222) overshot the runway while attempting a landing at Bacolod.There were no casualties among the passengers and crew, but three people on the ground were killed when the plane ploughed onto the nearby residential area.