Faulty X-ray machines at GenSan airport add to woes of diverted passengers

A Cebu Pacific Airbus A320 plane sits on the grassy part of the landing strip at the international airport in Davao after it overshot the runway during a rainstorm Sunday night. AFP PHOTO / Karlos Manlupig

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines—Defective X-ray machines at the General Santos City Airport compounded the misery of thousands of passengers from Davao City whose flights were diverted here after a Cebu Pacific plane skidded off the runway there on Monday.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines here told reporters that on Monday, a total of around 5,000 passengers motored to GenSan airport, about 184 kilometers away from Davao City, to catch their flights to different destinations.

“We are expecting almost the same number of passengers today. We appeal to passengers to stretch their patience. We are doing manual checking of all (baggage) as our X-ray machines are not yet operational,” Dante Fernandez, officer in charge of CAAP here, said Tuesday.

Fernandez explained that bidding for the purchase of new X-ray machines intended for GenSan airport had already been made but he could not yet say exactly when the equipment would arrive.