Cebu Pacific shelves Catarman flights amid safety issue

MANILA, Philippines-Unresolved airport safety issues forced Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific Air, Inc. to suspend its four times a week Manila-Catarman service starting May 9, vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said in a statement. Meanwhile, the budget carrier will increase its Manila-Calbayog flights to daily from three-times weekly to accommodate the affected passengers. “We take safety seriously and cannot operate under these conditions. We are working closely with our colleagues in CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) and local authorities to resolve these open issues," Iyog said. Cebu Pacific started its ATR72 service to Catarman in Feb. 14 with scheduled flights every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. However, there has been three runway incursions by both people and vehicles. “Since these incidents remain unresolved despite our repeated request for action by government agencies we have decided to suspend our flights to Catarman in the interest of passenger safety," Iyog said. Operations will resume once flight safety is assured and the runway is properly secured for commercial operations. “We hope that this issue is resolved soon so we can resume our flights to Catarman and continue to offer our trademark low fares," she said. Affected passengers may contact reservations at (02) 70-20-888 to rebook their flights. -Ruby Anne M. Rubio, GMANews.TV