Clark, Tacloban airports operations back to normal; Bulusan declared no-fly zone
Operations at the Tacloban and Clark airports went back to normal on Thursday after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) lifted advisories limiting aircraft takeoff and landing on the facilities.
A new Notice to Airmen (Notam), meanwhile, was issued on Thursday declaring a no-fly zone around the Mt. Bulusan area in Sorsogon province after the country’s fourth most active volcano spewed ash on Wednesday night.
The Notam for the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City was lifted after runway repairs, part of the rehabilitation of the facility, were completed.
On the other hand the Notam for the Clark International Airport (CRK) was lifted after the navigational guiding system, a transmitter of which was struck by lightning, was restored.
● Clark airport operations limited until Friday; navigational guide being fixed
According to Caap spokesperson Eric Apolonio, the lifting of the Notam for the Tacloban airport took effect at 7 a.m. on Thursday, bringing back to normal its daily operations from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Apolonio said the lifting of the Notam would allow jets back on the runway, 338 meters of which had been repaved.
The Notam, supposed to be in effect until May 10, disallowed the use of the runway by jetliners and limited the use of 1,440 meters of the runway to turbo-propeller and lower types of aircrafts or small airplanes.
Apolonio said the Notam for CRK, on the other hand, was lifted after its Doppler Very High Frequency Omni-Range (DVOR) was restored on Thursday morning.
The DVOR is a short-range radio navigation system that helps and guides pilots to land safely on the runway during bad weather and low visibility.
The Notam limited flight operations from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. or from sunrise to sunset for safety reasons after a transmitter of the DVOR was struck by lightning on Monday.
Meanwhile, a new Notam issued by the Caap, according to Apolonio, advised pilots to steer clear of the 5-mile radius of Mt. Bulusan and exercise caution when passing near the area.
He said the Notam advised pilots of alternate flight paths after Mt. Bulusan shot up an ash plume of 250 meters posing danger to aircrafts.
Alert level 1 was raised by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in areas around Mt. Bulusan.
