Aviation authorities have announced the partial opening of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) following Sunday night’s incident involving an aircraft from Korean Air, which slid off the runway while landing at the airport.
On Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) released an updated notice to airmen (Notam B3345/22) on the operating hours of MCIA Runway 04/22.
“The MCIA runway will be partially operational to all types of aircraft from 5:00 a.m. to 4:59 p.m. from 25 October to 8 November 2022,” the CAAP said in its advisory.
But as stated in the advisory, the said runway will be closed from 05:00 p.m. until 04:59 a.m. on the same dates.
CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said the notice to airmen and the airport’s operational hours will be modified depending on the developments in the extraction of the Korean Airlines A330 aircraft from the end of MCIA’s runway 22.
The aviation authority sent a team from its Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board (AAIIB) led by Col. Rommel Ronda and Harry Paradero to conduct a thorough investigation and supervise the extraction of the aircraft.
The probe will be conducted in coordination with Korean authorities.
Meanwhile, flag carrier Philippine Airlines is canceling more flights beginning Tuesday (Oct. 25) until Friday (Oct. 28) following the incident that resulted in the minor injuries of some passengers and temporary closure of MCIA, the second busiest airport in the country.
“Accordingly, for October 25, we plan to operate our standard schedule of PAL domestic flights during the permitted daylight hours on all our routes between Cebu and other airports in the Philippines, subject to favorable weather conditions. However, there may be a need to cancel certain flights in view of the operational limitations and slot constraints,” the airline management stated.
As of 12 noon Tuesday, 48 PAL flights were suspended. PAL urged affected passengers to check the status of their particular flights before proceeding to the airport.
“This is a developing situation. We shall keep you posted as new information comes in. Affected passengers will be accommodated on the next available flights out of Manila and Cebu, subject to space availability,” it stated.