PAL Diverts Three Flights to Clark

By JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS, GMA News

Three flights of Philippine Airlines were diverted to the Clark International Airport on Monday, as Runway 24 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was being repaired.

PAL Spokesperson Cielo Villaluna noted PR 659 from Dubai to Manila, PR 454 from General Santos to Manila, and 2P2080 from Catarman to Manila, were asked to use Clark International instead.

The three flights were redirected on the heels of “repair works on Runway 24 due to cracked pavements … As a result we had three diversions so far,” she said.

“Airport Authorities to implement emergency runway closure immediately due to soft spot in main Runway 06/24 to avoid damage to aircraft. Closure is upon risk assessment made by airport authorities,” the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said in a separate statement.

According to the MIAA, flights will resume at 10 p.m Monday.

“MIAA will forego its regular runway cleaning usually done daily from 01:30 a.m. to 03:30 a.m.,” it said.

Villaluna noted the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) also issued a notice of runway closure from 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday.

The flag carrier has adjusted the departure times of flights coming in so that no trips would be canceled

“The estimated time of departure (ETD) of certain flights from the outlying stations have been revised to ensure arrival in Manila is effected from 06:30 a.m. onwards,” PAL said in another statement.

Among the flights affected are:

• PR 119 from Vancouver to Manila with a new ETD of 03:12 a.m. local time on July 18 and a new ETA of 06:45 a.m. Manila time on July 19
• PR 103 from Los Angela to Manila with a new ETD of 02:00 a.m. local time on July 17 and a new ETA of 06:30 a.m. Manila time on July 19
• PR 105 from San Francisco to Manila with a new ETD of 02:30 a.m. local time on July 17 and a new ETA of 07:35 a.m. Manila time on July 19
• PR 675 from Riyadh to Manila with a new ETD of 05:20 p.m. local time on July 18, and a new ETA of 06:40 a.m. Manila time on July 19.

Passengers may call the airport for flight information: Terminal 1 at 877-1765, Terminal 2 at 877-1109 loc. 2882, Terminal 3 at 877-7888 loc. 8144, and Terminal 4 at  551-4119.

They may also send text messages to the airport authority at 09178396242, and tweets via @naia_miaa, or through the Facebook account MiaaGovPH. — VDS, GMA News

(Source: GMAnetwork.com)