Naia runway incident ‘a signal’ for new airport, says JV Ejercito

Stranded passengers wait for their flight at the NAIA Terminal 1 after Chinese passenger plane Xiamen Airlines overshot its landing before midnight on thursday . Several flights were canceled and diverted due to the closure of runway 06/24 until noon on saturday. INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Senator JV Ejercito stressed on Sunday the need to build another airport aside from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Manila and Clark International Airport in Pampanga following the airport mishap.

According to Ejercito, the incident that happened on Thursday night that led to hundreds of canceled flights and stranded passengers was a “signal for a new airport to be built”

“Accident at Naia is already a signal for a new airport to be built. The single International runway will not really work anymore,” the senator said in a statement.

“At this point the quickest solution for Manila’s airport problems is to have a twin airport system between Clark and NAIA, just like Haneda & Narita in Tokyo,” Ejercito added.

LIST: Canceled flights due to ‘excessive delays’

Ejercito, who was also one of the affected passengers of canceled flights, noted that two administrations have already passed but the government has still failed to decide where to build a new airport.

He also said that Philippine National Railway north rail line project of the government bound for Clark, Pampanga, and the construction of the P12-billion terminal building needed to be fast-tracked.

On Thursday night, Xiamen Air Flight MF8667 skidded off the runway of Naia and caused disruptions to several international and local flights.

The pilot and first officer of the said flight have been prevented from leaving the country for investigation purposes. /je

READ: Xiamen Air pilot, first officer barred from leaving PH