CAAP to meet with mayors to avoid 'miscoordination' in emergency response

After the grounding of a Cebu Pacific plane at the Davao International Airport Sunday, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines wants to meet with mayors to avoid "miscoordination" in similar incidents in the future.

CAAP head William Hotchkiss III said the meetings aim to fine-tune procedures where CAAP-run airports will let rescue teams from local governments get to the site of an emergency similar to Sunday's incident.

On Sunday, Cebu Pacific Flight 5J-971 was grounded near the runway after it made an emergency landing amid heavy rain.

The incident has triggered an investigation by the CAAP.

"Ang response natin coordinated and planned and exercised every once in a while para wala miscoordination," he said in an interview on dzBB radio on Wednesday.

He said Sunday's incident as a case of miscoordination where Davao International Airport authorities allegedly barred members of the city's "911" rescue team from getting to the site of the grounding.

Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio had threatened to sue the CAAP for disallowing the rescue teams from getting to the scene and helping the plane's passengers.

"We can talk about it. I intend to talk about it with her and other mayors," Hotchkiss said.

"I would like to think this is miscoordination," he added, referring to the incident at the Davao airport.

Ateneo de Davao University said it will no longer buy Cebu Pacific tickets, and even called for a boycott of the airline due to its crew's failure to attend to the passengers.

Even the passengers of the flight on Tuesday night met and agreed to pursue a class suit against Cebu Pacific. - VVP, GMA News