Sunday, July 18, 2004 Crossing herd gets pilot's goat By Rene H. Martel
CEBU CITY -- A herd of goats crossing the runway caused a taxiing airplane to "screech to a halt" at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) last Thursday.
The incident, said Cebu City Councilor Edgardo Labella, alarmed him since it means airport officials failed to secure the facility from all types of threats.
Labella, in an interview, said he was aboard Philippine Airlines Airbus 300 flight 848 past 9 a.m. last Thursday for Manila when the incident happened.
He said the plane was taxiing the runway at pre-take off speed when it suddenly stopped, jolting the passengers, several of whom were foreigners.
Moments later, they heard the captain's voice on the public address system assuring them that everything was all right.
"The captain announced that we had to stop for a few minutes because a herd of goats was crossing the runway," Labella recalled.
The announcement elicited laughter from the foreigners, whom Labella said most likely experienced such an incident only in MCIA.
But it shamed him that a world-class airport serving domestic and international flights such as MCIA has an unsafe runway.
Cebu, Labella said, is the business hub of the Visayas and MCIAA plays an important role in bringing tourists and investors here.
The airport premises, including the runway, are supposed to be fenced off from the neighboring communities so that no one, including goats, can enter without any permission.
"I fly out every week and the runway is that unsafe," he said.
Labella will ask MCIAA officer-in-charge Marcelino Cordova and airport police division officer-in-charge Bonifacio Punta II to review the facility's security set-up and immediately address the problem.
All types of security threats, including wayward animals, should be taken into account, he added.
Cordova could not be reached for his comment when Sun.Star tried calling him Saturday.
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