Iloilo airport temporarily closed to enable removal of stalled aircraft

Passengers of Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 461slide down through an emergency exit on a chute after the plane overshoot the runway of the Iloilo International Airport on Friday night. Photo from the Facebook page of Loui Latoza

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) ordered on Saturday the temporary closure of the Iloilo International Airport, as a Cebu Pacific aircraft that overshot the runway late Friday night is yet to be removed.

In an advisory issued at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said that the airport will be closed till 6 p.m. as authorities try to remove the stalled craft.

“We ask the public for understanding as ensuring passengers safety and security is paramount in maintaining our airports and skies safe for travel,” Apolonio said in a statement.

According to Charo Logarta-Lagamon, Cebu Pacific’s corporate communications director, the airline is working closely with airport authorities to expedite the removal of their craft from the runway.

However, because of the incident, at least 33 flights to and from Iloilo till tomorrow, Oct. 15, have already been canceled.

Based on initial reports on the incident, at around 11:15 p.m. on Friday, Flight 5J 461 from Manila “veered to the side of the runway” after landing at the airport. Despite the accident, Lagamon said that all 180 passengers and six crew members are “safe and accounted for.”

The airline, however, assured its affected passengers that they can either “rebook their flights for travel within 30 days from original departure date, reroute to alternate airports (Roxas, Bacolod or Kalibo for domestic flights; Cebu or Manila for the flights to and from Singapore), or opt for full refund or travel refund.”

Lagamon noted that “all affected passengers will be entitled to a free one-way travel voucher.”

Apart from that, Lagamon said that they also added five flights from Manila and Davao to Roxas City to accommodate passengers to and from Iloilo today.

The affected flights are as follows:

Oct. 13: 5J 467 (Manila-Iloilo)

Oct. 14: 5J 468 (Iloilo-Manila)

5J 449/450 (Manila-Iloilo-Manila)

5J 451/452 (Manila-Iloilo-Manila)

5J 453/454 (Manila-Iloilo-Manila)

5J 721/720 (Iloilo-Davao-Iloilo)

5J 255/256 (Iloilo-Singapore-Iloilo)

DG 6408/6409 (Cebu-Iloilo-Cebu)

5J 447/448 (Manila-Iloilo-Manila)

5J 467 (Manila-Iloilo)

5J 457/458 (Manila-Iloilo-Manila)

5J 247/248 (Iloilo-General Santos-Iloilo)

5J165 (Iloilo-Cebu)

Oct. 15: 5J 451/452 (Manila-Iloilo-Manila)

5J 453/454 (Manila-Iloilo-Manila)

5J 457/458 (Manila-Iloilo-Manila)

5J 468 (Iloilo-Manila)

5J 348/347 (Davao-Iloilo-Davao)

DG 6408/6409 (Cebu-Iloilo-Cebu)

As of writing, Philippine Airlines has yet to post on its social media pages a list of its affected flights.

PAL Express flights

2P 2139/2140 Manila to Iloilo to Manila

2P 2141/2142 Manila to Iloilo to Manila

2P 2143/2144 Manila to Iloilo to Manila