The Clark International Airport in Pampanga catered to a total of 35 diverted flights from the country’s main airport in Manila since before dawn Friday due to the Xiamen Airlines accident there, the agency said Saturday.
Data gathered from the airport’s control center showed that 32 diverted flights were due the closure of the affected runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The remaining three were due to the subsequent heavy airport traffic after the runway got cleared and was opened before noon of Saturday.
Hundreds of flights were either cancelled or diverted after a Boeing 737-800 of Xiamen Airlines overshot the runway at NAIA at around 11:55 p.m. Thursday amid heavy downpour.
Flight MF8667 came from Xiamen, China, and was carrying 157 passengers and eight crew members. No one was hurt during the accident, according to the airline.
Among the diverted flights to Clark airport are those of the Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Emirates, Gulf Air, Etihad and Air Asia.
The Clark airport is not discounting the possibility of additional diverted flights as NAIA will need to recover the affected flights.
