9 diverted int’l flights return to Naia

Naia. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga—Nine large international aircraft that were diverted to the Clark International Airport here Tuesday night flew safely to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Metro Manila early Wednesday after a disabled Boeing 747 of Saudi Airlines was removed from a Naia runway.

The planes took off from Clark at 3:36 a.m. or almost six hours after Manila Airport authorities ordered their diversion to avoid traffic congestion at Naia while the runway there was being cleared, according to Victor Jose Luciano, president and chief executive officer of the state-owned Clark International Airport Corp.

Naia Runway 6/24 was cleared of the disabled Saudi Airlines plane at 1:35 a.m., he said.

Luciano said in a telephone interview the passengers of the diverted planes “all safely landed” at Clark and flew back to Naia.

The affected flights were Philippine Airlines 307 A-340 (Hong Kong-Manila) and 469 A-330 (Incheon-Manila), Japan Airlines 949 B-767 and 745 B-767 (both Narita-Manila), Dragonair 931/932 A-320 (Hong Kong-Manila), Emirates 334 B-777 (Dubai-Manila), Singapore Airlines 918 B-777 (Singapore-Manila), Etihad 428 B-777 (Abu Dhabi-Manila) and Korean Air 623 B-777 (Incheon-Manila).

Clark’s two long runways ably accommodated those wide-bodied aircraft, he said.

Its new terminal building, expanded at a cost of P417-million, can handle four million passengers yearly.

Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, Jin Air, Seair, Tiger Airways and Dragonair fly to overseas and domestic destinations via Clark.

Air Asia Philippines is set to resume on Oct. 17 four weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

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