TACLOBAN CITY – Regular operations have resumed at the Tacloban Airport a day after the completion of emergency runway repair, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Thursday.
The CAAP field office here said Philippine Airlines canceled during the day eight flights from and to this city and Cebu Pacific (CEB) suspended six flights early morning but resumed their flights to Tacloban around 10:30 a.m.
“The CAAP management wishes to convey our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience. Thus, the safety of the riding public is our topmost priority. Further, kindly coordinate with your respective airlines for updates of your flights,” the agency said in a statement.
AirAsia resumed their operations at 5:40 a.m. on Thursday and added two recovery flights for passengers affected by temporary airport shutdown.
CAAP reopened the Tacloban airport runway around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (April 3), after hours of emergency repair due to a peeled-off portion of asphalt overlay that was noticed around 7:30 a.m.
Even after the repair, airlines canceled the late afternoon to evening flights on Wednesday.
Of the 17 outbound flights, 14 were canceled starting at 10 a.m. until Wednesday night.
The overlay was peeled off around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday during the take-off of a Philippine Airlines aircraft.
The asphalt, according to CAAP, was just overlayed on Wednesday morning as part of the long-term project to improve the airport’s 2,100-meter runway.
In January 2018, the airport was also closed for two days due to emergency runway repairs.
Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban is one of the country’s busiest, with 36 daily flights between Manila and Cebu.
The airport in the regional capital ranked as the country’s seventh busiest in 2022, with 1,489,803 inbound and outbound passengers.
Named after Daniel Z. Romualdez, former speaker of the House of Representatives, the airport serves as the main gateway from Manila and Cebu to Eastern Visayas.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)
