A third runway

The Xiamen Airlines aircraft has finally been removed from the NAIA runway early Saturday morning. The Boeing 737 apparently made a “hard landing” and overshot the runway, ending up in the grassy, muddy part of the airport midnight of Friday. Heavy rains were blamed for the accident. The runway was blocked for more than a day, causing delays and cancellations of flights, and chaos among thousands of passengers that remained stranded for more than a day. It is fortunate that all passengers and crew of the aircraft were unhurt. An investigation has begun. The pilot and first officer were barred from leaving the country while the investigation is taking place to determine if a force majeure or pilot error caused the accident.

The aircraft itself suffered heavy damage. An engine was torn off its wing and practically all its landing gear was sheared off. A large telescopic crane was used to lift the aircraft. It was placed on several rolling pallets and towed to a space at the airport where it would not hamper operations. I do not know if the plane can still be repaired and fly again considering the damage.

Talks about a new airport in Metro Manila have been resurrected by the accident. NAIA personnel were certainly put to task. The accident showed where they could very much improve on in terms of training, response time, equipment, and contingency. With only two runways, once one becomes unusable, chaos ensues. It is no joke for a passenger to have his flight cancelled and become stranded at the airport, especially for a foreigner. NAIA is not exactly the ideal place to kill time, even if it has improved its facilities. It is definitely not in the caliber of the international airport of Hong Kong or Singapore.

The subject of constructing a new international airport in Metro Manila has been discussed several times, but has not really taken off. There were plans to use Sangley Air Base in Cavite for a third runway, but nothing concrete has developed. The runway at Sangley is short for large passenger aircraft as it was designed for smaller military planes. I’m not sure if there were plans to extend the runway. Clark International Airport is operational, but its distance from Metro Manila has become a deal breaker for most passengers. Traveling more than an hour on NLEX, plus the usual horrendous traffic within Metro Manila may be too much. If only there was a rapid train system that runs from Manila to Clark, it may be a different story by now. This is actually a project that should be given attention, due to NAIA's obvious lack of servicing the growing number of travelers. The DOTr would do well to study once more the building of a rapid train system to and from Clark International Airport, to decongest the already-ageing NAIA. I only hope it does not become a repeat of the contentious Northrail project which was scrapped because of graft and corruption.