4 Manila-Iloilo flights diverted to Cebu City

CEBU, Philippines - Four early morning flights from Manila bound for Iloilo failed to land at the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo at their scheduled time of arrival yesterday due to zero visibility.

Efren Nagrama, area manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said the flights were diverted to Cebu.

Affected flights were Zest Air’s Z2-312 that left the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 4:15 a.m. and was supposed to land at Iloilo airport at 5:20 a.m.; Cebu Pacific’s 5J 451 that left Manila at 4:35 a.m. and set to arrive in Iloilo at 5:40 a.m.; Airphil Express’s 2P 945 that was supposed to arrive in Iloilo at 5:25 a.m.; and Philippine Airlines’ PR 139 that left Manila at 5 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive in Iloilo at 6:10 a.m.

Nagrama said the runway was not visible due to the thick fog, an incident that caused a few hours of delay to passengers. However, “By 7:45 a.m., operations at the Ilo-ilo Airport were back to normal,” he added.

It was more than a month ago when Iloilo International Airport also experienced zero visibility due to fog. - THE FREEMAN