The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) suspended operations at the Tacloban Airport on April 3 (Wednesday) to give way to immediate clearing of Foreign Object Debris (FODs) and repair of the runway.
Major airline companies announced flight cancellations due to the emergency runway repair at the said airport.
In an advisory, Cebu Pacific cancelled the following flights as of 11 a.m. 5J 651/652: Manila – Tacloban – Manila; 5J 653/654: Manila – Tacloban – Manila; 5J 655/656: Manila – Tacloban – Manila; 5J 659/660: Manila – Tacloban – Manila.
CEB spokesperson Carmina Romero said affected passengers have been informed via email and provided with the following options through the Manage Booking portal on the Cebu Pacific website www.cebupacificair.com/manage-booking:. Free Rebooking- Rebook without fare difference for travel up to thirty days from original flight date. The fare difference will apply if the travel period is beyond thirty days from the original flight date; Travel Fund- Store the amount in a virtual CEB wallet and use this to either book a new flight or pay for add-ons (example: baggage allowance, seat selection, etc.) and Refund- Full refund of your ticket.
“We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. CEB is working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines regarding this matter. We will provide updates as necessary,” she said.
For its part, AirAsia, through its external communications manager and deputy spokesperson Carlo Carongoy, said the airline is on an ongoing dialogue with CAAP and the Airport Authorities in Tacloban on the developments of the runway closure.
Carongoy assured that once the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) is lifted the following afternoon Z2 flights are expected to be on schedule: Z2 327- Manila-Tacloban; Z2 328 Tacloban-Manila; Z2 329 Manila-Tacloban and Z2 330 Tacloban-Manila.
Meanwhile, he said that in the morning of April 3, AirAsia Philippines flight Z2 323 (Tacloban to Manila), upon touchdown and routine inspection in Manila, found asphalt debris in its elevator surface.
“Having “Safety #1” as our core value, our flight engineers decided to perform non-scheduled maintenance, affecting the following flights with between 15 minutes to a two hour delay: Z2 354 Manila- Tagbilaran; Z2 355 Tagbilaran- Manila; Z2 697 Manila- Cagayan and Z2 698 Cagayan-Manila,” Carongoy added.
As the situation is ongoing, guests are advised to visit @flyairasiaph social media platforms and AirAsia newsroom and through their registered mobile phones and email accounts for timely flight updates.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) spokesperson Cielo Villaluna meanwhile said that due to emergency runway repair works at Tacloban Airport, PAL cancelled the following flights today (April 3, 2024): 2P2987/2988 MNL-TAC-MN; 2P4985/4986 MNL-TAC-MNL and 2P2238/2239MNL-TAC-MNL.
Options for passengers of cancelled flights are as follows:reroute to another flight with available space within 60 days from the original flight in the same booking class or higher within the same cabin class; convert your ticket to Travel Credits equivalent to the unused base fare of your ticket. Voucher validity is one year from the date of issuance and refund ticket without penalties, excluding Ticketing Service Charge.
“Please contact us at https://www.philippineairlines.com/en/covid-information-hub/mypal-hub-request. For further details and other concerns, you may avail of any of the following platforms: Hotline (+632) 8539-0000 / (+632) 8855-8888; Philippines Mobile – (+63) 919-056-2255; Messenger: https://bit.ly/PALMessenger; Viber: Search for Philippine Airlines; WhatsApp: Add us as a new contact (+63) 998-951-4359 and myPAL Web Chat: https://bit.ly/3z8Ck3Y.” she said.
Villaluna added: “To know the status of your flight, simply click the Flight Status tab on http://www.philippineairlines.com and type in your flight details. We seek your kind understanding and we look forward to assisting you.”
