THE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) temporarily closed Wednesday the Tacloban airport, affecting hundreds of passengers.
Tacloban Area Manager Antonio Alfonso said that the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport's operation was suspended effective 2 p.m. Wednesday until 5 a.m. Thursday.
"The asphalted landing roll portion of the runway had been damaged and needs immediate repair, forcing the closure of airport operations for safety reasons as of 2 p.m. today (Wednesday)," he said.
Two Airbus aircraft from Air Asia and Cebu Pacific were grounded due to the suspension of the airport operation and six more flights were cancelled for the day affecting hundreds of commuters, the official added.
The cancelled flights were two Airbus 320 from PAL Express via Manila-Tacloban–Manila; two Airbus 320 Cebu Pacific, Manila-Tacloban-Manila: one ATR from Cebu-Tacloban-Cebu; and one Airbus 320 from Air Asia, Manila-Tacloban-Manila.
Alfonso assured that the airport authorities and the respective airlines are now accommodating stranded passengers and giving priority to the next available flight out of Tacloban airport on Thursday. (SDR/Sunnex)