Tacloban airport limited to small planes

MANILA, Philippines - The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) reopened the Daniel Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City yesterday.

CAAP deputy director general Rodante Joya said the Tacloban airport, however, would be limited to turbo propeller aircraft until Dec. 3.

This prompted budget airline Cebu Pacific Air to cancel several flights for this month as most of the fleet of the low-cost carrier consists of Airbus jet aircraft.

Six flights between Manila and Tacloban per day have been cancelled from Sept. 4 to 30, but flights using the Airbus ATR 72-500 will continue.

The airline said it is arranging additional flights to re-accommodate affected passengers. It said passengers could opt to rebook their flights within 30 days from original departure date, reroute their flights to Cebu or request a refund.

In a separate advisory posted on its website, national flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) said it resumed flights to Tacloban using the Bombardier Dash 8 fleet of PAL Express.

PAL Express resumed 10 daily flights to and from Tacloban City using the Bombardier Q300 and Q400 aircraft.

PAL said it would allow rerouting of flights to Cebu, Calbayog or Catarman, as well as the full refund of the fare, including taxes and fees.

Joya announced last Monday that CAAP has issued a notice to airmen on the closure of the Tacloban airport starting 6 a.m. of Sept. 3 to 6 a.m. of yesterday.

He reiterated that jets like Airbus A320 or Boeing B737 would resume flights only after the total replacement of the five inches asphalts on the whole runway is done.

PAL, Cebu Pacific, AirAsia and Tiger Airways earlier threatened to stop flying to Tacloban City due to potholes along the airport’s runway.