Cebu Pacific, PAL Express resume Zamboanga City flights

Published September 18, 2013 1:09pm

Commercial flights to Zamboanga City will resume starting Thursday after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) issued a notice to airman which reopened the international airport – closed since Sept. 9 when MNLF fighters laid siege upon the city in an effort to declare sovereignty by raising a flag at the City Hall.

In a statement, CAAP the lifted the notice to airman (Notam) which suspended the commercial operations until Sept. 21 as the security situation at the Zamboanga International Airport starts to improve.

CAAP Director General William K. Hotchkiss lll told reporters the government authorized two commercial flights starting tomorrow – one each for PAL Express and Cebu Pacific, and two each on Friday.

Deputy Director General Captain John C. Andrews will be onboard to oversee the first flight from NAIA to Zamboanga on Thursday, Hotchkiss said.

Last Friday, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific cited a CAAP order extending the closure of the Zamboanga airport because of security concerns in the city and the cancellation of flights of both carriers until Sept. 21.

On Tuesday, Hotchkiss and Andrews boarded a private plane of PAL president Ramon Ang and flew to Zamboanga for an assessment of the situation and consulatation with the Crisis Committee in the area – co-chaired by Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco.

Climaco said the city will rise from the crisis it still has to fully exit from.

With a handle on the security situation, Hotchkiss conferred with airline representatives in the area and made arrangements for reopening the airport and resumption of commercial flights.

Andrews said airline passengers would be allowed to carry only one hand-carried luggage during the intial flights to the city.

"We would like to request passengers on the special flights on September 19, 2013 to please bring only one carry-on bag (up to 7 kilos), to check in at the airport early, and to cooperate with the special security procedures at the airport," Cebu Pacific said Wednesday.

Cebu Pacific also said it would contact guests originally booked on Manila-Zamboanga-Manila flights on September 19 for their preferred option.

Their options include:

- taking the flight on September 19

- rebooking

- getting a full refund or travel fund

- rerouting

- proceeding with previously rebooked or cancelled flight.

In the meantime, the budget carrier sought the patience of passengers on other Zamboanga flights, since it is allowed to operate only one flight on Thursday.

Early Wednesday, Philippine National Police deputy director for operations Felipe Rojas Jr. said government troops have captured KGK Building along R. Lustre Street in Zamboanga City, believed to be the base from where Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) commander Habier Malik was holed up.

Government forces have retaken as much as 80 percent of MNLF-controlled areas in the city, Rojas said. —Danessa Rivera/KG/VS/ELR, GMA News

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