Portions of Mactan airport runway reopened for departing flights

But from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. only

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard ‘Ahong’ Chan checks the situation at the runway of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) where Korean Air flight KE631 crash- landed at 11:11 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23. | Junard Ahong Chan Facebook

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Airport officials at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) have reopened portions of its runway for departing flights on Monday afternoon, Oct. 24. 

Lawyer Glenn Napuli, assistant general manager at the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), confirmed this, hours after they suspended airport operations following a Korean Air jet that overshot the runway. 

Napuli, in a text message, said departing flights, both domestic and international, might resume operations at 2 p.m. on Monday, and would do so until 6 p.m. 

With the recent development, MCIAA, in a separate statement, also urged passengers to coordinate with their respective airlines. 

“Airlines for departures shall be in touch with their passengers for the necessary pre-departure and check-in procedures,” they said. 

However, MCIA still could not accommodate arriving flights at the moment, said Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard ‘Ahong’ Chan on his Facebook page. 

Nevertheless, both Chan and Napuli said operations were on track to remove Korean Air flight KE631, a widebody Airbus 330, off the runway by Tuesday midnight, Oct. 25. 

“Our salvage and clearing operations have started since Monday dawn. Nagremove lang ta sa fuel daan manually. Mao hinay,” Napuli explained.

(Our salvage and clearing operations have started since Monday dawn. We just removed the fuel first manually. That is why it is slow.)

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