EDITORIAL - Disaster at the NAIA

The first disaster was the skidding of a Xiamen Airlines plane on the NAIA international runway during a monsoon-induced downpour last Friday. Fortunately, there were no major injuries as the aircraft veered and skidded to a stop. But it took forever to tow the plane away from the path of other aircraft.

This aggravated the second disaster, which was the response to the first one. Until yesterday, thousands of passengers continued to suffer from the chaos that ensued as the disabled XiamenAir prevented the use of the runway in the country’s main gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. During the 36 hours that NAIA operations were paralyzed, nearly 39,000 passengers of the country’s two flag carriers alone saw their flights canceled.

Thousands more were inconvenienced in other airlines with flights canceled, diverted or delayed. Passengers complained of sitting for several hours on flights that were diverted to other airports, only to be told that they would not be allowed to disembark and would instead have to fly back to their last point of embarkation.

There were many complaints about the lack of assistance in finding accommodations and even food during the long wait. Among those who suffered were overseas Filipino workers who flew to Manila from all over the country for their international flights. The OFWs expressed concern that they could be penalized or even lose their jobs abroad for failing to arrive as scheduled in the host countries as stipulated in their contracts.

The disaster once again highlighted the inadequacy of the country’s principal gateway, and the urgency of increasing the utilization of Clark International Airport. The government must also make up its mind on the feasibility of constructing another runway or developing another airport to decongest the NAIA.

Until yesterday, disruptions continued with 51 flights canceled. Affected passengers took to social media to complain about being stranded in an airport terminal that was picked in a travel website for several years as one of the world’s worst. Looking at that crowd of stranded passengers over the weekend, you almost wish for the good old days, when the public had to contend with only power interruptions and leaking ceilings at the NAIA during heavy rain.