MANILA (Mabuhay) — Malacañang on Tuesday told airlines in the country to take the necessary steps to make sure there will not be a repeat of Sunday’s mishap involving a Cebu Pacific airplane at the Davao International Airport. At a press briefing, Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) […]
Saying similar accidents also happen even in first-world countries, Malacañang on Saturday insisted the faulty landing of a Cebu Pacific plane at the Davao International Airport should not be a cause to hold the upgrade of the Philippine aviation industry. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda contested claims that the country’s aviation industry is not ready for an upgrade following the Davao airpoprt mishap. “Ang nangyari diyan, nangyayari rin sa mga first world countries, hindi lang ‘yan sa mga third world countries. Alam natin na may mga aksidenteng ganito na nangyayari rin sa mga ibang bansa,” he said on government-run dzRB radio. Excerpts of the interview were posted Saturday afternoon on the Presidential Communication and Operations website. Last Sunday, a Cebu Pacific plane skidded off a Davao International Airport runway and got grounded. The incident forced the airport to halt operations until Tuesday night. Yet, Lacierda downplayed arguments that what happened showed the Philippines is not ready for an upgrade in its assessment. “I don’t think that is a one-to-one correspondence. And I don’t think that is proper. The premise would justify the conclusion,” he said. Also, he said the government has been focusing on different approaches in improving the country’s aviation industry and making a conclusion based on the Davao incident would be irresponsible. Besides, he said the Philippines is getting commendations for its initiatives in modernizing the aviation sector. “We are taking the proper steps to ensure that we are going to be out of that category and to ensure Read More …
CebuPac plane’s nose mounted on truck, towing to follow . The nose of the Cebu Pacific plane that skidded off the runway of the Francisco Bangoy Int’l Airport in Davao City is mounted on a truck’s bed before it is towed out of the runway on Tuesday. All flights to and from Davao still remains canceled due to the incident. Karlos Manlupig (Updated 8:43 p.m.) The runway of the Davao International Airport — closed since Sunday night after a Cebu Pacific plane made an emergency landing — resumed normal operations Tuesday night, according to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). In a tweet, the DOTC said Davao Airport’s Runway 5/23 “resumed normal operations” at 8 p.m. Cebu Pacific, for its part, said the disabled aircraft was finally removed from the runway and that the airline will resume its normal flights to and from Davao City starting Wednesday. In an advisory posted on its Twitter account, the air carrier also reiterated its apology for the inconvenience caused by the plane’s emergency landing. “All Cebu Pacific (CEB) flights to and from Davao will be back to normal starting tomorrow, June 5, 2013, Wednesday, after its disabled aircraft was removed from the Davao Airport runway,” it said. Cebu Pacific said the Davao International Airport’s runway was cleared at about 7 p.m. Tuesday, nearly 48 hours after the emergency landing. On Sunday, Cebu Pacific’s Flight 5J-971 made an emergency landing amid a downpour and blocked the airport’s runway, forcing the closure of the Read More …