Zamboanga City air traffic controllers relieved

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General Ruben Ciron, said in the weekly radio program “Para Sa Iyo Bayan” of Vice President Noli de Castro that he immediately ordered the relief of the air traffic control team’s supervisor and three others in the team.

But he ruled out sabotage from the air traffic controller personnel who left the control tower unattended and left three inbound flights delaying its landing Friday at the Zamboanga International Airport.

Zamboanga City Airport manager Celso Bayabos believed it was more complacency on the part of the five air traffic controllers.

“It was not deliberate and it was rather more on complacent personnel who were expecting one after the other to report ahead,” Bayabos said.

However, Bayabos said the air traffic controller, which is autonomous in its operation and has its own supervisory division, is now under investigation while the five erring personnel have been relieved.

Other personnel have taken over, according to Bayabos.

Bayabos declined to comment further pending the result of the investigation.

However, independent sources at the airport disclosed that three of the five assigned appeared to be absent while the two others came in late.

There was also a report that the supervisor was not in the city but this could not be confirmed.

Edmond Cortez, a Fil-Am medical student and one of those 46 passengers on board Cebu Pacific flight from Cebu, said the pilot confirmed there was no contact from the tower and that it was communicating with the other plane.

“We just heard the pilot making address that they were in control and nothing to worry,” according to Cortez during a dinner with his girlfriend Darling Morales. He was here on vacation.

He said he heard the wheels of the plane roll out twice but made no landing.

However, Cortez did not scare them but rather turned a brief tour of the city’s aerial sites with a young boy turning as instant tourist guide identifying sites.

“Everyone turned their attention to a young boy who became our instant tour guide,” Cortez said.  – With Rudy Santos