REBOOKING. Passengers affected by the cancellation of flights at the Dumaguete-Sibulan airport queue for rebooking at the Cebu Pacific counter on Tuesday (Jan. 3, 2023). The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines in Dumaguete City said normal flight operations have resumed. (Photo courtesy of CAAP-Dumaguete)
DUMAGUETE CITY – All flights to and from the Dumaguete-Sibulan airport in Negros Oriental returned to normal on Tuesday following two days of cancellations due to air navigation technical issues at the Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
“Starting today, operations resumed to normal based on the reports of the three airlines operating here and so far, there are no recovery flights,” Frank Muaña Jr., Officer-of-the-Day of the CAAP-Dumaguete, told the Philippine News Agency.
On Jan. 1, after CAAP announced the air traffic system glitch, seven flights here were cancelled and the following day, three more flights were also suspended, Muaña said.
Of the total, two were bound for Mactan, Cebu while the rest were en route to Manila.
Muaña said some 1,385 passengers affected by the cancellations were accommodated and re-booked for free by Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia.
They were also provided food and drinks, but the majority of them returned home.
Only six persons were allowed to stay inside the airport’s pre-departure area on Sunday night and four adults and three children on Monday night, Muaña said.
Two aircraft also remained overnight at the airport on Monday, he
Muaña was thankful that there was no chaos at the airport following the flight cancellations as passengers understood the problem after being informed about it.
There is an average 74 flights weekly at the Dumaguete-Sibulan airport, he said.
Meanwhile, Muaña said "Oplan Biyaheng Ayos" significantly helped during the cancellation of flights with an operational plan in place for the holidays.
“This is an initiative to help and assist in the implementation of airport operations,” he said.
"Oplan Biyaheng Ayos" was activated on Dec. 16 and will run through Jan. 5, he added. (PNA)
