Dumaguete Airport runway closed due to plane with tire problem

A Philippine Airlines aircraft that developed a tire problem has caused a temporary closure of Dumaguete Airport's runway.

Philippine Airlines spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV that the incident occurred at 6:42 a.m. on Tuesday.

A 156 seater Airbus A320 (RPC8397) owned by Philippine Airlines remained stationary at the runway of Dumaguete Airport due to "tire issues" that Villanueva confirmed was a burst tire.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) declared a runway closure until evening to tow the aircraft.

Villanueva said they will investigate whether the tire problem was caused by a maintenance issue or a foreign object.

Passengers of flight PR2541 disembarked from the aircraft before this process was initiated.

"Safe and sound yung mga pasahero, nakalapag safely yung eroplano, pero during the roll-in sa runway, nagkaroon nga po ng tire issue," Villanueva said. "We are resolving the problem within the day."

As a result, Philippine Airlines had to cancel its three roundtrip flights to and from Dumaguete on Tuesday.

"Humihingi po kami ng paumanhin sa mga pasahero namin na papunta at palabas ng Dumaguete. We are seeking their understanding because of what happened this morning," Villanueva said.

The airline is assisting its passengers in rebooking their flights for free or booking accommodations for those who need it. Passengers may rebook their flights for free within 30 days of their original flight date.

Investigation

Senior Police Officer 2 Jason Sienes of the Aviation Security Group (AVSEGROUP) said that according to the plane's pilot, the aircraft's rear tires already had issues as it was flying from Manila.

Initial investigation by the AVSEGROUP showed that the plane experienced hard landing upon arrival and wasn't able to reach the airport's disembarkation area. Because of this, the subsequent flights were cancelled.

As of posting time, PAL officials in Dumaguete were still waiting for the airline's mechanics from Cebu to fix the problem. The plane still remains at the middle of the runway.

An initial number of 115 passengers from PR 2541, including hundreds of others more from other morning flights, were stranded at the Dumaguete airport. Among them was Dumaguete City deputy administrator Dinno Depositario.

Depositario was supposed to fly Tuesday morning to attend a conference in Cebu on behalf of the city government. Because of the incident, he booked boat tickets instead.

He added that Cebu Pacific had already promised him to refund his airfare, noting that other Korean and Chinese tourists have also requested a refund from the said airline.

"This is a fortuitous event. Wala tayong magagawa rito because things like this happen. Buti na lang inconvenience lang ang naidulot niya at walang namatay o nasaktan sa insidente," he said over the phone. —KBK, GMA News