Tacloban airport restricted due to runway obstruction

MANILA, Philippines - The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has restricted use of the runway of the Daniel Z. Romualdez airport in Tacloban City following last Saturday’s near fatal aircraft accident.

The CAAP issued another Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) restricting the use of the Tacloban airport to aircraft that could only land on its usable runway length of 1,500 meters from 9 a.m. yesterday until 9 p.m. on Jan. 20.

Rodante Joya, CAAP deputy director general, said the NOTAM restricts runway 18 of Tacloban airport for takeoff only but runway 36 on the other side of the airport was allowed for landing and takeoff.

The CAAP said only 450 meters of the runway is usable.

The use of the airport was restricted after the Bombardier G50 aircraft carrying several Cabinet officials overshot and veered off the runway on Saturday.

The accident occurred minutes after Pope Francis and his entourage took off from the same airport.

Joya said a team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board (AAIIB) is now investigating the cause of accident.

Joya said no flights are allowed at the Tacloban airport after the airport’s runway 18 threshold was displaced by 638 meters because of the accident.

Civil Aviation Authority regional manager Antonio Alfonso added they have to isolate a portion of the airport runway due to the obstruction.

“The portion that was not obstructed, which is 1,500 meters, could only accommodate small planes,” he said.

The accident also left hundreds of Tacloban-bound passengers stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals yesterday.

Several commercial aircraft remain on the ground at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, waiting for the Daniel Z. Romualdez airport to be declared open for operations.

Cebu Pacific, its subsidiary TigerAir, and Philippine Airlines (PAL) suspended airbus flights yesterday due to the obstruction in the runway.

“(Cebu Pacific and TigerAir) arranged additional flights to re-accommodate affected passengers in the soonest available flights or they may avail any of the following options: Free rebooking for travel within 30 days from original departure date; or full refund or travel fund,” the two airlines said.

PAL said passengers will be re-accommodated tomorrow on the following replacement flights utilizing smaller Q300/Q400 aircraft.

Asked when the runway will resume operations, Alfonso said they are still waiting for the crane and other equipment that they will use to remove the obstructing plane.

“We will open it as soon as possible,” Alfonso said, adding the deadline was until Tuesday to tow the plane.

The lack of lifting jacks and associated equipment hampered efforts to tow the 25,000- pound aircraft out of the mud, where it remains stuck since Saturday.

CAAP has adopted a “no-fly zone” and “no drone” policy during the arrival and departure of Pope Francis in the Philippines, particularly in areas to be visited by the pontiff.

The regulation was supposed to cover all commercial, general aviation, and training flights.– With Janvic Mateo, Rudy Santos