Clark airport’s closure starts night of March 19

CLARK FREEPORT –– The Clark International Airport (CRK) will temporarily stop operating starting Thursday night to comply with President Duterte’s order banning domestic and international flights as the country is placed under a state of calamity to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“[We] are operating until tomorrow (March 19). We are waiting for official announcement if we will close,” said Teri Flores, corporate communications chief of Lipad, the consortium running CRK since last year.

Domestic flights have been suspended since Sunday, stranding many passengers like Genilyn Estorgio who came from Barcelona, Spain on March 15, and was bound for her hometown Bohol.

They preferred to sit it out at the airport’s lobby while waiting for words for any domestic flights to the Visayas. But Cebu and Palawan had refused local flights from CRK since last week.

Flores said Lipad has been coordinating with local airlines, local government representatives, Department of Tourism, and Red Cross for assistance to stranded passengers.

Philippine Airlines and Air Asia had mounted an additional flight each daily to Puerto Princesa since March 16, Flores said.

CRK has been serving 428 domestic and 130 international weekly flights up to March 10, she said./lzb