MANILA, Philippines — The Legazpi City airport in Albay resumed operations on Wednesday, a day after it was badly damaged by Typhoon Tisoy, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said.
CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio, however, said it is up to local and foreign airlines when it will resume flights to and from the city.
He said that the airport’s passenger terminal, which shouldered the brunt of the damage, has already been cleaned and fixed. The airport runway and tower are also operational.
LOOK: Legazpi airport sustains damage as Tisoy barrels across PH
“Nalinis na at partially naayos na ‘yung mga problema sa loob ng passenger terminal (The passenger terminal was already cleaned and partially fixed),” Apolonio told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview.
“Binuksan na namin ang airport for operations today pero ‘yung [pag-operate] ng flights is up to the airlines (We opened already opened the airport for operations today but the operation of flights will be up to the airlines),” he added.
So far, Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the only airline that has scheduled flights to the airport on Wednesday, Apolonio said.
Airline officials are set to meet with CAAP within the day to discuss the resumption of flight operations in the airport, Apolonio said.
He explained that airlines have safety protocols and standards to follow before they could operate flights.
Apolonio assured that the airport is ready to accommodate flights.
“We are ready. Wala naman nang nakikita na problema (We are ready to operate. We don’t see any problem anymore),” he said.
At the very least, most of the flights are expected to resume by Thursday, Dec. 5, the CAAP official said.