MANILA: Philippine aviation authorities shut down one of the country’s busiest airports yesterday after a passenger jet overshot the runway when landing during a rainstorm, officials said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said Davao International Airport in the south of the country would be closed until yesterday evening while authorities removed the Cebu Pacific Airbus A320 plane.
The jet, with 165 people aboard, “veered off to the right of the runway” shortly after landing on Sunday night from Manila, the company said.
However Father Joel Tabora, president of the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao University, charged that Cebu Pacific had endangered its passengers, including Ateneo faculty and students, during the emergency because of alleged incompetence.
In a notice to airlines, the civil aviation office said the airport would be closed until yesterday evening, when ground crew would likely be able to pull the jet from the runway.
It added that four of the passengers on board had been infants.
Cebu Pacific’s Iyog said the airline had cancelled 20 flights for the day, while rival Philippine Airlines had cancelled 11.
It is designed to handle about two million passengers annually.
AFP
