General Santos is a highly urbanized city and referred to as General Santos City and abbreviated as GenSan. It was previously known as Dadiangas and named after Gen. Paulino Santos, a former Commanding General of the Philippine Army and the settlement's leading pioneer. Located on the island of Mindanao, it is the southernmost and 15th-most populous city in the Philippines. Besides that, it is the regional center for commerce and industry of the Soccsksargen region. It is also a first-class highly urbanized city in Soccsksargen, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 594,446 people. B'laan people are the original inhabitants of General Santos, and traces of their early settlement of the area are found in the city's place names, which are derived from their vocabulary. This city is also considered to be one of the driest places in the Philippines with minimal rainfall.
The best time to fly to General Santos is during cool season as the city is one of the driest cities in the Philippines. If you’re looking for the very warmest time to visit General Santos, the hottest months are April, March, and then May. The warmest time of year is generally mid-April where highs are regularly around 34.1°C with temperatures rarely dropping below 23.5°C at night. As for wind, the wind in General Santos is usually extremely calm. The windiest month is March, followed by February and January.
Cotabato Airport – This airport is an airport that generally serves Cotabato city and it is also known as the Awang Airport. It is classified as a major domestic airport by the Philippines's Civil Aviation Authority. Cotabato Airport is also the 20th busiest airport to operate in the Philippines with an annual number of passengers of nearly 300,000 people, aircraft movements of nearly 3,000 and these numbers are increasing year by year. However, it does not serve the city by handling major international flights. It is located in the Maguindanao province, about 7 km away from the centre of Cotabato City. An international airport is expected to be built in June 2019 to serve the Cotabato City.
General Santos International Airport- Situated in Barangay Fatima, the airport is the largest in the island of Mindanao and is officially classified an International Airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). It was inaugurated on July 6, 1996 in time to serve the influx of visitors, athletes and participants coming in from different parts of the country who were taking part in the 42nd annual Palarong Pambansa (National Games) that was held in South Cotabato, Sarangani and General Santos (SOCSARGEN) area at that time. The first international chartered flight to land in General Santos International Airport was of former President Fidel V. Ramos' homecoming from one of his state visits abroad in the mid-90s.
General Santos's climate is classified as tropical with the sunshine and rainfall. The average annual temperature is 27.0 °C. At an average temperature of 27.9 °C, April is the hottest month of the year. July is the coldest month, with temperatures averaging 26.5 °C.
Airport in Cotabato
Airport in General Santos