Zamboanga Airport ‘safe’ — CAAP

MANILA, Philippines (5th UPDATE) – Aviation regulators now consider Zamboanga International Airport “safe” for plane landings and take-offs.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, September 18, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Deputy director general John Andrews reiterated that flights to and from Zamboanga City will resume on early morning Thursday, September 19.

READ: Zamboanga flights may resume September 19

It has been over a week since it suspended operations at the 3rd busiest airport in Mindanao on September 9 amid firefighting between rebel groups and government forces.

READ: Govt halts Zamboanga airport operations

Two flights, one baggage

CAAP will allow two initial flights to Zamboanga City — one by budget carrier Cebu Pacific and one by PAL Express, a unit of legacy carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) — according to Andrews.

In Manila, the airline counters of both PAL Express and Cebu Pacific will open much earlier and airplanes will land by the time Zamboanga airport is in operation.

Flights out of Zamboanga will start at sunrise due to the existing curfew in the conflict-ridden city, Andrews said.

“Passengers leaving Zamboanga Airport are allowed only one piece of handcarried luggage due to security precautions,” Andrews said.

He said passengers should check-in at the Zamboanga passenger terminal at least 3 hours prior to departure time.

Tight security

The CAAP officials warned passengers that security precautions at the Zamboanga airport is extremely tight and arriving passengers from Manila would bussed to a holding point 5 minutes away from the airport.

Relatives and friends could only fetch them at the designated pick-up point, Andrews stressed. 

Passengers departing from Zamboanga will only be allowed to get down of their vehicles to proceed to the first check point, which is outside of the terminal building.

“No send off and no welcome parties for those who are leaving,” he said in Filipino. 

Normal operation

Andrews said that full resumption of flights at the airport is possible only once the city itself return to normal.

He added that by Friday, September 20, each airline may be allowed to mount two flights each if security situation improves. 

“Right now we still have curfew and although [Zamboanga Airport] is night-rated, we cannot operate at night.”

Thousands of passengers have been affected by the temporary airport closure.

Officials of Cebu Pacific and PAL said Zamboanga is a key destination in their local network routes since it’s a trading hub.

A bigger aircraft, such as the Airbus A330, which can accommodate up to 335 passengers, cannot be used to cope with the backlog.

Zamboanga airport’s runway is too narrow for wide-bodied aircraft to execute a turnaround, Andrews explained. 

“Only the A219 and A320, with a capacity of 150 passengers, would be allowed for the two carriers,” he said.

Committee decision

Andrews will board the first flight out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) tomorrow to Zamboanga to oversee the preliminary flight. 

CAAP officials were in Zamboanga City on Tuesday to meet with other government officials regarding the security situation there.

He and CAAP chief William Hotchkiss “boarded a private plane of Ramon Ang to Zamboanga to assess the situation and consulted the crisis committee in the area.” Ang is president of PAL.

Andrews said the Zamboanga Crisis Committee, composed of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Zamboanga City Mayor Isabella Climaco, all the airlines concerned and other stakeholders made the decision regarding the airport.

Flight schedules

In separate statements, Cebu Pacific and PAL said guests originally booked on the Manila-Zamboanga flights on September 19 will be prioritized.

Cebu Pacific said their call center representatives will reach the other affected passengers for their choice on the following options: rebooking, getting a full refund or travel fund, rerouting, or proceeding with previously rebooked or cancelled flight.

PAL, on the other hand, said, “any remaining seats will be given to passengers of previously cancelled flights on first-come, first-serve basis.”

Both airlines asked their passengers to bring only one carry-on bag (up to 7 kilos for Cebu Pacific), and to check in early. PAL said no checked-in luggage will be allowed.

PAL gave the following schedule of its Zamboanga flights:

Sept. 19 (Thursday)

Flight 2P995 – departs Manila 11:40 AM, arrives Zamboanga 1:15 PM
Flight 2P996 – departs Zamboanga 2:00 PM, arrives Manila 3:40 PM

Sept. 20 (Friday) and Sept. 21 (Saturday)

Flight 2P993 – departs Manila 9:00 AM, arrives Zamboanga 10:40 AM
Flight 2P994 – departs Zamboanga 11:10 AM, arrives Manila 12:40 PM

Flight 2P997 departs Manila 1:50 PM, arrives Zamboanga 3:30 PM
Flight 2P998 departs Zamboanga 4:00 PM, arrives Manila 5:30 PM

“Flights from Zamboanga to Cebu, Davao, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi remain suspended. Schedule of flights for succeeding days will be announced later,” it added.

PAL announced Friday, September 20, that flights from Zamboanga to Cebu will be re-routed. Ticket holders will be ferried to Manila and will be booked for Manila-Cebu flights instead.

Cebu Pacific has mounted one roundtrip flight for Friday:

Sept. 20

Flight 5J 853 – departs Manila 11:00 AM, arrives Zamboanga 12:30PM

Flight 5J 854 – departs Zamboanga 2:35PM, arrives Manila 3:10 PM

 – Rappler.com