Mactan airport exempts mercy flights from fees

12 November 2013


By Ira Pedrasa
ABS-CBN RNG-Cebu

Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete announced here today that airport fees have been waived for mercy and humanitarian flights in behalf of the victims of super typhoon Yolanda.

In a press conference on the arrival of the Antonov 225, Villarete said: “We are exempting aircraft doing mercy and humanitarian missions from airport fees such as landing fees, as well as other aeronautical fees such as parking and lighting fees especially if they stay overnight.”

He said Cebu has become a jump off point to and from Tacloban, especially for humanitarian missions.

Just this morning, a Belgian airline landed in Cebu, carrying a 76-man rescue and medical team.

Villarete said the authority is also expecting a Boeing 747 coming from a stopover in Dubai.

He said he could not count anymore how many humanitarian flights have come in, saying small ones have come and gone. He said private flights have also arrived to help in the relief efforts.

While the runway can carry several flight movements in an hour, Villarete asked airlines to coordinate with the authority to ensure safety measures.

Asked how the flights have been, Villarete said several operations were canceled Monday because of the limited runway strip in Tacloban.

Public storm signal 1 is now raised in Cebu, but he said operations are safe so far. He said it is up to air traffic controllers to manage flights to and from Tacloban.

Cebu has also become a logistics center for other missions in the Visayas. Several foreign journalists are in the area to provide information on the goings on in Yolanda-hit areas.


 
 



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