NAIA T3 operations resume after Saudi Airlines mishap Tuesday night

NAIA Terminal 3 (Wikipedia photo)

MANILA — Just hours after a Saudi Airlines aircraft bound to Riyadh veered of the runway at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 1 (NAIA 1) on Tuesday night, regular operations have resumed at the airport Wednesday morning.

According to the NAIA media affairs office, operations resumed Wednesday morning after fire and rescue teams towed the stuck Saudi Airlines plane at 1:30 am.

The first flight to arrive at the now cleared Runway 24 was a Japanese Airlines flight, which arrived at 2:12 am.

The Saudi Airlines flight 871, a Boeing 744 was about to takeoff at the runway on Tuesday, 7pm, when it veered off and got stuck in mud.

Because of this, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) allowing only smaller aircrafts to use the blocked runway.

The NOTAM was supposed to be lifted on the same day at 10 pm, but reports said it extended until midnight.

According to airport authorities, there were no immediate reports of injuries to passengers and crew.

However, it caused the delay of about 11 flights while over 200 passengers were returned to the NAIA T1 on a shuttle bus and given hotel accommodation.