By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Iloilo International Airport reopened Sunday night after a Cebu Pacific Air airbus A320 veered off the runway last Friday.

According to Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) spokesperson Eric Apolonio, the airport was supposed to resume operations Saturday night, however, bad weather made it difficult to remove the aircraft.

According to a statement by the airline on their Facebook page, flight 5J 461, originating from Manila with 180 passengers and crew on board, landed in Iloilo City around 11:15 p.m. when the aircraft veered off the runway.

Cebu Pacific reported no injuries, however, with the aircraft stuck in the mud, air operations at the airport were hindered, forcing authorities to shut down the facility until the plane was removed.

Airline management also stated they would cooperate with the CAAP in probing the incident.

Meanwhile, the airline re-booked some passengers with flights within 30 days of their original departure date and also rerouted other passengers to airports in Roxas City, Silay City, and Kalibo for domestic flights; and Cebu and Manila for international flights.

For passengers rerouted through Roxas Airport, Cebu Pacific provided free land transfers.

The airline also offered full refunds, travel funds, along with free round-trip travel vouchers for some passengers./DGB, WDJ