AirAsia Zest plane overshoots Kalibo runway
An AirAsia passenger plane sits on the grassy portion of the runway after overshooting upon landing in windy weather at Kalibo airport in Kalibo township, Aklan province in central Philippines Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014. Giovanni Hontomin, who is in charge of AirAsia Zest’s operations, told The Associated Press crewmembers activated an emergency slide to help passengers disembark safely from the Airbus aircraft. There were no immediate reports of injuries to the passengers and crew and the plane remained stuck on a grassy area near the runway’s end. (AP Photo/Jun Aguirre)
A jet of AirAsia overshot the runway of Kalibo Airport upon landing on Tuesday afternoon, affecting all evening flights at the airport.
In an advisory, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said the AirAsia plane carrying 153 passengers and six crew members overshot the Runway 23 of the Kalibo Airport at 5:43 p.m.
All the people on board the AirAsia flight EZD 272 with Manila-Kalibo route were safe, Eric Apolonio, spokesperson for CAAP, said.
The operation of the airport, however, was suspended to enable airport personnel to remove the plane and clear the runway, according to Percy Malonesio, Western Visayas area manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
As to how the aircraft, an Airbus A320 piloted by Antonio Miguel Halaguena, overshot the runway is still under investigation, according to CAAP.
Cynthia Asperas, airport manager of the Kalibo Internationl Airport, however, said in an interview with DZMM that “strong winds” forced the plane to overshoot.
Clearing operations were still ongoing as of 6:35 p.m. as the aircraft remains at the far end of the runway preventing take-off and landing of other planes.
The incident came as the search of the missing AirAsia flight bound for Singapore from Indonesia has begun to show traces of the aircraft and some of its passengers.
All evening flights were thus affected, CAAP said.
In a post from the Department of Transportation and Communications’ official Twitter page, two TigerAir flights were cancelled due to runway closure: DG 7058 (Manila to Kalibo) and DG 7059 (Kalibo to Manila).
Meanwhile, two flights to and from Kalibo were also cancelled due to bad weather: DG-7054 Manila-Kalibo, DG-7055 Kalibo-Manila.
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