MANILA, Philippines — Passengers of Cebu Pacific flights affected by the temporary closure of the runway at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport after a plane veered off the tarmac as it taxied to take off had arrived at their destinations early Saturday morning, the airline said.
Flight 5J570 bound for Manila was executing a 180-degree turn before taking off when its nose wheel “left the paved surface” around 6:35 p.m., CebuPacific said.
None of the flight’s 435 passengers, including three infants, were hurt and all were safely deplaned as the airline coordinated with GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation, operator of the Mactan Cebu International Airport, for the towing of the aircraft to clear the runway.
However, the incident forced the diversion of several Cebu Pacific and Cebgo flights.
Bacolod-Silay Airport:
- DG 6377 Roxas-Cebu
- DG 6928 Butuan-Cebu
- DG 6205 Legazpi-Cebu
- 5J 607 Clark-Cebu
Iloilo International Airport:
- DG 6658 Zamboanga-Cebu
- 5J 434 Zamboanga-Cebu
Returned to Manila:
- 5J571 Manila-Cebu
As of 5:30 a.m. Saturday, 5J570’s passengers had all been flown to Manila on “five succeeding Cebu Pacific flights; and an additional flight mounted which carried the remaining passengers,” the airline said.
The diverted flights had also completed their journeys to Cebu:
- 5J 434 (Zamboanga-Cebu) – Arrived Cebu at 1255am from Iloilo
- DG 6658 (Zamboanga-Cebu) – Arrived Cebu at about 8:15am from Iloilo
- DG 6377 (Roxas-Cebu) – Accommodated on Flight 5J 607 (Clark-Cebu); arrived Cebu at 12:30am from Bacolod
- DG 6928 (Butuan-Cebu) – Arrived Cebu at 12:27am from Bacolod
- DG 6205 (Legazpi-Cebu) – Arrived Cebu at 12:09am from Bacolod
- 5J 607 (Clark-Cebu) – Arrived Cebu at 12:30am from Bacolod
- 5J 571 (Manila-Cebu) – Arrived Cebu at 1:40am
The airline said it was “coordinating and cooperating with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines for an investigation regarding the incident” and would conduct a “thorough inspection” on the aircraft involved in the incident.
