A Cebu Pacific aircraft gets ground servicing at the Mactan Cebu International Airport before taking another flight. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
An Airbus A320 aircraft of Cebu Pacific with 155 passengers and bound for Cagayan de Oro City turned back to the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) 20 minutes after it took off due to technical problems yesterday.
Cebu Pacific flight 5J203 left for Cagayan de Oro City at 8:05 a.m. and was already airborne for about 20 minutes when the pilots noticed a technical glitch in the aircraft’s system.
According to GMR-Megawide Airport Corporation (GMCAC) corporate affairs head Estee Marie Plunket, the pilot in command decided to return to MCIA. The jet landed safely at 8:40 a.m. All 155 passengers, which includes an infant, were safe.
The flight was later canceled with the aircraft undergoing maintenance checks.
“Based on information we got, some of the passengers were accommodated in another flight to Cagayan de Oro through Tiger Air and some later Cebu Pacific flights in the afternoon,” said Plunket.