Cauayan airport terminal closed due to ‘Rosita’ damage

Trees in Isabela, bend and twist as the winds of Typhoon ‘Rosita’ slam into the province on Tuesday morning, Oct. 30, 2018. The storm’s fury damaged buildings in the province, including the passenger terminal of the Cauayan airport. INQUIRER FILE

Following the onslaught of Typhoon “Rosita” on Isabela province, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announced on Wednesday the closure of Cauayan airport’s passenger terminal, which will undergo inspection for storm damage.

CAAP Director General Jim Sydiongco said the passenger terminal building sustained the biggest damage after strong winds ripped its roof apart.

“Substantially, ang malaking sira ay yung passenger terminal building sa Cauayan, lumipad yung bubong … so ‘yung passenger terminal building, sarado siya for the next two days,” Sydiongco said in a press conference.

However, Sydiongco said that the runway could still be used since there are no other airports in Isabela except the Cauayan airport.

“Basically, ang runway ay pwedeng gamitin, wala namang malaking sira. Walang airport doon sa area na yun, sa Bagabag, Baguio, Tuguegarao, Cuayan lang ang passenger terminal building,” he added.

The CAAP director general said that a team of engineers were already assessing the damage on the airport, adding that engineers were already deployed to Tuguegarao even before Rosita struck.

“So bago pa, na-anticipate namin itong si Rosita. Naglagay na kami ng mga inhinyero doon sa Tuguegarao kung sakaling kailangan,” Sydiongco said.

“As we speak, ina-assess nila ngayon ang damage kasi hindi lang security pati comfort and convenience ng pasahero at kung pwede mag-operate yung airline,” he added.

Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade said the department was coordinating with the local government in the assessment and repair of the airport.

“(May” ugnayan kami, ako mismo kay Governor Dy, kung saan irerepaso namin yung kalagayan ng airport na nasalanta. Agaran ‘yung engineer namin sa Tuguegarao na pinadala doon. Mayroon tayong mga technical team that are going by land now para sa Isabela” Tugade said.

“Ang objective namin ay yung agarang continued operation ng airport sa Isabela,” he added.  /cbb