Wind conditions, runway limits behind off-loading of PAL’s Tacloban passengers

MANILA, Philippines — Citing weight restrictions brought about by ongoing runway repair work at the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City, flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) appealed on Monday for understanding from the flying public amid complaints from passengers who had been off-loaded from flights to and from Tacloban.

“The maximum allowable weight for flights to Tacloban is contingent on wind conditions and runway limitations caused by ongoing repair work,” PAL said in a statement.

The airline said it was putting the safety of its passengers first when it off-loaded passengers and put them on the next available flights.

“Affected passengers are accommodated on next available flights on the same day. We empathize fully with the affected passengers but seek their understanding that this is being carried out for safety considerations,” the airline said.

The Tacloban airport has been under repair since Sept. 4 with only 1,200 meters open for takeoffs and landings of commercial flights.

The airport has been operating in a limited capacity, with only turboprop aircraft and smaller planes allowed to take off and land.

Jets like the Airbus A320 or Boeing B737 of PAL and Cebu Pacific Air may resume flights only after the 5-inch asphalt overlay on the runway has been replaced, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) said earlier, adding that the runway repair would be completed before the Tacloban visit of Pope Francis in January.

“We are anticipating an influx of devotees. We might need the airport to be open to bigger jets to accommodate more passengers,” CAAP said.

Early this month, Pete Ilagan, president of the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. accused the CAAP of negligence that resulted in the airport’s limited operations.

Ilagan said the runway repair had adverse effects on the economy of Tacloban and had doubled the airfare for the Tacloban-Manila-Tacloban route of Philippine Airlines, the only carrier flying directly to the province from Manila.

PAL on Monday responded to a complaint by a passenger who was bumped off and assigned to another flight from Manila to Tacloban.

In an incident on Oct. 17, a University of the Philippines professor and two colleagues were bumped off from their 7 a.m. flight to Tacloban.

In a phone interview, UP professor Maureen Pagaduan said they were finally allowed to board the plane after she confronted the PAL personnel at the airport and demanded an explanation. They would take legal action against PAL for the incident, she said.