Tokyo flights from NAIA back to normal

MANILA, Philippines —  All flights to and from Haneda airport returned to normal at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) yesterday following the collision involving Japan Airlines flight 516 and a departing Japanese Coast Guard plane at the Tokyo airport.

Philippine Airlines flight PR 424 with an estimated departure time of 7:05 p.m. bound for Haneda was put on hold at the NAIA Terminal 1 on Jan. 2 due to temporary closure of all runways at Haneda after the incident.

PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said at 8:55 p.m. on Tuesday, PAL flight PR 424 – Manila to Tokyo Haneda – started accepting passengers for boarding. This was after they received the latest briefing from Haneda airport authorities on the opening of certain runways.

Flight PR 424 departed at 9:30 p.m., while flight PR 423 from Tokyo/Haneda to Manila arrived at 3:30 a.m., local time on Wednesday, she said.

Japan Airlines flight 516 with 379 passengers on board had just landed Tuesday evening when it collided with the Japan Coast Guard aircraft preparing for takeoff with six crew and relief goods on board for the earthquake victims.

All passengers of the JAL plane were safely evacuated before it burned. The five fatalities were on the De Havilland Dash 8 turboprop of the coast guard.

On holiday

The family of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and husband Mike Arroyo, except their daughter Luli, were on Christmas skiing holiday in Japan when the earthquake struck on New Year’s Day.

The Arroyo grandkids were skiing when the magnitude 7.6 quake hit Niseko, one of the finest ski resorts in Asia popular among wealthy Filipinos.

“We lolo and lola are après skiing, we only eat, sleep and pray. The young ones ski and eat a lot. The boys have 5X more appetite than us,” the former first gentleman said in a Viber message yesterday.

In messages sent to fellow Ateneans, Arroyo recounted the “close call” during their flight back from Sapporo to Tokyo Haneda where the collision happened.

“We thank God because… my whole family… from Niseko in Japan we went to Sapporo. Airport was in Chitose as we flew Japan Airlines to Tokyo (Haneda),” he said, referring to the collision between a JAL plane and a Coast Guard aircraft that resulted in five deaths.

Luckily, he said, their flight was delayed and the family avoided being part of the aircraft accident, missing it by just 50 minutes.

The former first family left the NAIA Terminal 3 on board All Nippon Airlines last Dec. 23.

Meanwhile, financial and other necessary assistance await Filipino workers affected by the strong quake in Japan.

“For OFWs adversely affected by the Japan quake, the DMW shall provide financial assistance,” the Department of Migrant Workers announced in a Facebook post.

The agency advised overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) needing assistance to contact the Migrant Workers’ Office in Osaka via email or through its hotline.

The Philippine government reported no Filipino casualty as a result of the quake, but a number have been evacuated to safer areas. – Mayen Jaymalin