Cebu Pacific flights from Singapore were also expected to arrive here at 8:15 p.m. yesterday and another at 5:30 a.m. today.
The NAIA is expected to be closed to most commercial airlines up to Friday to give way to the needs of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila.
Clark airport operations manager Ding Aranas said that despite these developments, regular flights of other airlines at Clark airport would go on uninterrupted.
These include regular domestic and international flights of Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines, Dragonair, Jin Air, Ceb- Go, Cebu Pacific, Tiger Air Singapore and Air Asia Berhad.
Aranas noted that Cebu Pacific Air has also diverted its domestic flights in NAIA to Clark. The flights are destined for Davao, Dumaguete, Kalibo, Tagbilaran and Puerto Princesa.
Aranas noted that as of yesterday, 10 commercial aircraft of Cebu Pacific and five aircraft of the Philippine Airlines were parked at the Clark Airport after both air carriers temporarily suspended their other flights at the NAIA.
CIAC President-CEO Emigdio Tanjuatco III stressed that “Clark Airport is always prepared and ready to accommodate aircraft which has two runways and wide aircraft parking.”
This, even as Philippine National Red Cross chair and senatorial candidate Richard Gordon said it wasn’t necessary for airlines to cancel some 1,300 flights for the duration of the APEC summit.
Gordon said they should have reset the flights using the international airports at the Subic and Clark freeports, as he bewailed “government neglect” of these airports.
In his Facebook account post, Gordon lamented that “many many thousands of our people and tourists are being terribly inconvenienced (by the flight cancellations).”
“Work and business are disrupted resulting in many millions lost in the economy,” he noted.
“Why not use Clark and Subic airports now and for always?” he asked.
