CAAP suspends night flights at Legazpi airport after lightning damaged runway facility

LEGAZPI CITY—The Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Philippines (CAAP) has suspended night flights at the Legazpi City Domestic airport since Saturday after a lightning bolt struck and damaged the runway identification threshold lights (RITL) on Friday night, Mayor Noel Rosal, said.

Rosal, who is concurrent Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) chairperson, said at least two of the eight flights of the Cebu Pacific Airbus with routes Manila-Legazpi-Manila were affected by the night flight cancellation.

Rosal, in a phone interview, said the suspension of the night flights affected the National Nurses Convention, which started yesterday with 2,000 delegates, and the Jaycees Senators’ convention with 500 delegates.

Rosal said he has coordinated with the CAAP here. He added that CAAP is working out necessary repair work to restore the runway night lights destroyed by the lightning and make it operational in a week.

Rosal said he asked the agency to install lightning arrester in the runway to prevent similar incidents in the future. /jpv