A typhoon that struck the Philippines on Tuesday led to the postponement of nearly 500 flights at Manila’s main airport, according to Reuters.
The newswire said some 499 flights were postponed and 100,000 people impacted by a precautionary closure of Ninoy Aquino International Airport for 12 hours until 11:00pm on Tuesday. Flights continued in unaffected areas of the country.
CNN Philippines – which quoted the airport’s general manager Ed Monreal as advising passengers to only go to the airports if they receive confirmed bookings from their airlines – has a list of the cancelled fights here. The affected airlines include local carriers Cebu Pacific, Cebgo and Philippine Airlines, as well as a host of international carriers.
The country’s flag carrier Philippine Airlines issued a notice on its website saying it would operate special replacement international flights on certain routes to assist passengers whose originally scheduled flights were cancelled.
The airline added that it is also “arranging some replacement flights on certain domestic routes, subject to final slot clearances and other operational arrangements”.
Furthermore, Philippine Airlines passengers also have the option to rebook on flights of their choice within 30 days from the original travel date with rebooking service fees waived. They also have the option to reund their ticket cost within 30 days from their original flight date with refund service fees waived. See here for more information.
“As the typhoon recedes and the weather improves, it will take some time for Philippine Airlines and other airlines to restore normal schedules,” Philippine Airlines said.
“All efforts are now being exerted to bring aircraft back to the Manila/NAIA base, operate selected replacement flights and undertake other recovery actions and operational adjustments; all these need to be phased in based on amended slot clearances at affected airports. We will need to do this in coordination with the airport and air traffic control authorities in the Philippines, as well as in the other countries where we have had to park aircraft or implement schedule changes.”
While it said it had restarted flights last night, the airline said: “We strongly urge passengers to refrain from going to the airport unless they have confirmed flight schedules.”
At least four people have been killed by Typhoon Tisoy (also known as Typhoon Kammuri), according to CNN. The typhoon made landfall on the southeastern part of Luzon, the Philippines’ most populous island, on Monday night. It hit as the equivalent of a Category 4 Atlantic Hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of nearly 215 kilometres per hour. Thousands had evacuated ahead of time.
