Emirates Airbus 380 lands at Clark carrying 405 Filipinos

A water cannon salute greets the arrival of the Airbus 380 of Emirates at the Clark International Airport on Wednesday. It carried 405 FIlipinos from Dubai. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CLARK FREEPORT—An Emirates Airbus 380 carrying 405 Filipinos from Dubai landed at the Clark International Airport (CRK) here at 3:25 p.m. on Wednesday (Aug. 19).

The one-time flight of the Airbus 380 was given a water salute. It carried a mix of overseas Filipino workers, balikbayan and seafarers.

The flight coincided with the first anniversary of the private consortium Luzon International Premier Airport Development (Lipad) Corp. in operating and maintaining CRK, said its CEO, Bi Yong Chungunco.

The Airbus 380 was used as Emirates celebrated its 30th anniversary of flying to and from the Philippines.

“We are proud to fly our first scheduled A380 service to Clark, in the year we are celebrating our 30th anniversary of serving the Philippines,” said Satish Sethi, country manager of Emirates-Philippines in a joint statement with Chungunco.

Following safety protocols, the passengers underwent swab tests and are staying in hotels in Clark for quarantine until lab test results are out, according to Teri Flores, Lipad corporate communications head.

Emirates resumed six flights weekly to Clark on Aug. 1.

TSB