CAAP, MIAA extend runway closure to 7 p.m. Friday

The closure of Runway 06/24 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport has been extended to 7 p.m. on Tuesday to give authorities time to remove a disabled aircraft that overshot the runway, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).

“Manila Runway 06/24 closed until 17 August 2018 07:00 p.m. due to disabled aircraft,” CAAP informed airlines in a notice to airmen—NOTAM B3819/18—on Friday afternoon.

The MIAA issued a similar advisory: “Runway closure is extended until 7 p.m.”

In a joint press conference Friday afternoon, MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal said the extended closure would likely suffice for authorities to remove the plane. “We hope there will be no more extension of the 7 p.m. plane extraction target.”

The runway closure was extended as airport authorities ordered for a crane that will remove the disable aircraft, Monreal told GMA News Online. “We need a special equipment to help us extract the aircraft.”

The incident has affected at least 34 flights of Philippine Airlines.

“Due to the closure of Manila Airport’s main Runway 06/24, because of a disabled aircraft of a foreign airline blocking the runway, Philippine Airlines was compelled to cancel, delay, and/or divert ... flights today,” the company said in a separate statement.

The airline also issued an updated advisory at 3 p.m., saying larger airplanes are mostly affected by the closure.

“Flights using widebody aircraft (B777s, A330s/A350s/A340s), however, are most affected, as these can only be accommodated on the main Runway 06/24 which remains closed at the moment.”

Airport officials earlier said that Runway 06/24 may be reopened by noon on Friday, but that a delay may be necessary as foul weather made the ground too soft to extricate the plane.

Xiamen Airlines flight MF8667, a Boeing B737 type aircraft, landed at NAIA’s runway 24 at 11:55 p.m. on August 16 but overshot the runway after landing.

The aircraft is now in a grassy area near the perimeter road in front of the Communications, Navigations, Surveillance-Air Traffic Management antenna.

The MIAA said the tail end of the aircraft was lifted so that baggage from the aircraft compartment may be unloaded.

“Weight reduction would allow easier and faster recovery operations and further ensure that the exposure to risk of the recovery team is mitigated,” MIAA said in a separate advisory.

The airport authority’s Rescue & Firefighting Division, Medical Division, and Airport Safety and Security Office immediately responded when the incident happened.

All 157 passengers and 8 crew were safe and were attended to by airport staff at NAIA’s Terminal 1.

MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal, CAAP Director Capt. Jim Sydiongco, and Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board (AAIIB) chief Rainer Baculinao are still on site to assess the situation and supervise the extraction of the aircraft.

Many other flights were affected due to the runway closure.

“As this is a developing situation, we expect there will be further changes that may involve more cancellations or delays,” PAL said in another advisory at 3 p.m.

Runway 13/31, an alternate runway at NAIA, is still operational, the airline said, noting that it can accommodate narrow-body aircraft such as Airbus A320s and A321s, “although with unavoidable delays in many cases.”

The schedule of flights that have been diverted to alternate airports such as Clark, Cebu, Utapao, and Saigon remains uncertain as of this posting.

“We do not yet have final information on when these flights will be allowed to proceed to Manila, as this will depend on the reopening of the main runway and the necessary re-slotting of the many affected flights of multiple airlines,” PAL said. —VDS, GMA News