Tacloban airport resumes operations

MANILA, Philippines - The Daniel Z. Romualdez airport in Tacloban City resumed normal operations yesterday after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) successfully removed the chartered jet that got stuck in the runway last Saturday.

CAAP deputy director Rodante Joya said the Tacloban airport could now accommodate bigger and commercial aircraft.

“The aircraft was removed from site and moved to a distance that is no longer a runway obstruction,” Joya said.

A Bombardier G50 executive jet carrying several Cabinet officials veered off and got stuck in the muddy portion of the runway while it tried to take off.

The jet was taxiing just minutes after the chartered plane of Pope Francis took off from the same airport.

The pope had to cut short his visit to Tacloban due to Tropical Storm Amang.

Joya added the CAAP lifted the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) at the Tacloban airport, allowing all flights of national flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) and budget airline Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific) to normalize operations.

“At the time of the lifting of the restriction on A320 operations to and from Tacloban, PAL already had in place special flights via Bombardier aircraft,” PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said.

On Monday, PAL arranged seven flights using Bombardier Q400 aircraft after canceling four flights using A320 aircraft.

However, PAL adjusted its Tacloban flight operations yesterday using bigger aircraft to accommodate more passengers.