Manila International Airport – Today in History – June 2, 1971
On July 2, 1971, the first Pan American World Airway’s Boeing 747 jumbo jet arrived at the then Manila International Airport with 269 passengers.
Pan American World Airways was the second airline to open a regular jumbo route to the Philippines with 20 hours flying time between San Francisco and Manila.
Also on this same day in 1973, the 2.16-kilometer long San Juanico Bridge, the longest bridge in the Philippines spanning a body of water between the islands of Samar and Leyte in the Visayas, was inaugurated.
The San Juanico Bridge is considered one of the most beautifully-designed bridges in the country.
The bridge is supported by 43 spans rising 41 meters above the sea, with a large arch beneath allowing boats to pass.
