DIOSDADDO MACAPAGAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – At 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, hundreds of passengers were allowed in to this airport’s departure terminal after its closure for exactly 44 hours and 45 minutes since Monday.
This airport is now back to normal operations with the fast-tracking repair works, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said in a statement just before the opening.
An initial six airlines servicing eight international routes and three domestic destinations serviced hundreds of passengers as this airport opened after suffering earthquake damage.
“The terminal and tower are structurally sound as certified by authorities. We’ll be 90 to 100 percent full-service flights by Thursday, April 25, as airlines commit to resume services at Clark,” Jaime Melo, president and CEO of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC), said.
“The inspection, clearing and repair (of the terminal’s damaged portion) will normally take two weeks to accomplish. But Clark airport was reopened in less than 48 hours,” he added.
Melo was referring to the collapsed ceiling at the departure terminal’s check-in lobby caused by an earthquake that struck Luzon last April 22.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade earlier pledged to resume Clark’s operations on Tuesday or, at the latest, on Thursday, April 25, the target dates for rehabilitation works inside the terminal to be completed.
“The BCDA was also instrumental in the rapid completion of the clearing and repair works as it engaged the services of companies like GMR Megawide and R2 Builders at no cost to government,” Melo said.
