ACTING Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III has called for a meeting with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) and Cebu Pacific Air to seek explanation over the incident at the Iloilo International Airport that resulted in a two-day cancellation of flight.

“We will call on them to explain. It will be an open meeting; I want full disclosure of what really happened,” Espinosa said on Thursday, October 19.

Espinosa was provided an incident report by the Cebu Pacific detailing the measures it undertook after its aircraft made a “runway excursion” evening of October 13.

He said the incident has caused hassle to passengers, including him who had to rebook his ticket several times, since the airport was temporarily closed.

The acting mayor wanted to know if the heavy rains experienced in Iloilo for several days could be one of the reasons the aircraft had veered off the runway.

He said he was also told that the end portion of the runway had algae, rendering it slippery. However, he did not mention who told him that information.

Espinosa said he wanted answers to those questions as the Iloilo International Airport had been considered the best airport in the Philippines and number 12 in Asia.

The aircraft of Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 461 was only extracted from the end of the airport runway around noontime of Monday, October 16.

Regular flights also resumed in the same afternoon. (PNA)