‘Wind factor’ forces PAL Subic flight to land in Clark

Personnel of the Subic Bay International Airport await the arrival of overseas Filipino workers on Monday morning. But due to the so-called “wind factor,” their flight was diverted to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport at Clark Freeport in Pampanga province. (Photo courtesy of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority)

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Philippine Airlines (PAL) Flight PR5683, which was supposed to arrive at the Subic Bay International Airport here at 10:43 a.m. on Monday (July 5), was diverted to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) at Clark Freeport in Pampanga province due to “wind factor,” officials said.

The tailwind (wind blowing from behind the aircraft) was “not within limits,” the PAL said in an advisory.

PAL Flight PR5683 came from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, with 309 returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), two seamen, and one returning overseas Filipino on board.

In a statement, Wilma Eisma, chair of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, said all PAL Flight PR5683 passengers would still undergo the mandatory quarantine at accredited hotels and accommodation establishments in this free port.