Mactan to go VFR after ILS destroyed

 24 October 2022

Mactan Cebu International Airport (CEB) announced Monday morning that Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) at the airport's runway 22 is temporarily suspended after Korean Air Airbus A330 destroyed the Instrument Landing System (ILS) localizer at runway. Airport owner Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) said that it secured permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAAP) to resume visual flight rules at the airport around 4:00pm-6:00pm to allow departures of stranded aircraft, and arrival of light passenger planes at the opposite side of the runway. Among the stranded aircraft are Turkish Airlines A350-900 bound for Istanbul via Manila, and Jeju Air bound to Seoul which were allowed to leave. According to latest Notice to Airman (NOTAM) the airport's runway is still closed to civil aviation traffic due to aircraft obstruction at the end of the runway. MCIAA said they will be moving the aircraft later tonight and tomorrow after the Aircraft Accident Inquiry and Investigation Board (AIIB) finishes its investigation to the mishap. CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said Mactan should be open to traffic as early as tomorrow evening at 6:00pm at its latest NOTAM advisory, after the Korean plane is removed from its current location and transferred to at least 50 meters off the runway center-line.