The Clark International Airport in Pampanga accommodated on Friday a number of international and domestic flights that were diverted from the country’s main airport in Manila after a Xiamen Airlines aircraft skidded off the NAIA runway late Thursday evening.
According to the control center of the Clark airport, 12 international and four domestic flights were diverted there from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as of late Friday afternoon, and 12 more are expected to arrive.
Among the diverted flights are those of the Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Emirates, Gulf Air, Etihad and Air Asia.
A Boeing 737-800 of Xiamen Airlines overshot the runway at NAIA at around 11:55 p.m. Thursday amid heavy downpour in the Philippine capital.
Flight MF8667 came from Xiamen, China, carrying 157 passengers and eight crew members. No one was hurt during the accident and everyone was safely evacuated, the airline said on its Twitter account.
Since the aircraft was stuck in a grassy portion of runway 06-24, the latter was ordered closed, affecting several other flights from various airlines.
Aviation authorities said the affected runway will remain closed until 5 a.m. of Saturday
