CAAP reopens Tacloban airport

MANILA, Philippines–The runway of the Tacloban City airport was opened for operations on Thursday but only for smaller aircraft.

The bigger jets like Airbus A320 and Boeing B737 will not be allowed to land or take off at the Daniel Romualdez Airport for the next three months, from Sept. 4 to Dec. 3, so the rehabilitation of its potholed runway can proceed unimpeded, said retired Brig. General Rodante Joya, chief financial officer of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

Aviation authorities suspended the Tacloban airport’s operations for 24 hours from Wednesday to Thursday this week, saying that the runway’s “fast-developing potholes” could put passengers at risk and damage aircraft and their engines.

The 2,100-runway, which normally serves 24 flights a day, was reopened at 6 a.m. Thursday but only for Q400, ATR72 and other turbo-propeller planes.–Niña P. Calleja