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.

Korean Air Flies Clark

28 October 2019

South Korean flag carrier Korean Air began offering direct daily A330-300 flights from Clark to Incheon, South Korea, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) announced.

“Travelers to Korea can now add Clark as their gateway beginning today, 27 October 2019,” the DoTr said in a statement.

KE 636 departs Clark at 13:10 and arrives in Incheon at 18:10. The return flight KE 635 departs Incheon at 7:55 a.m. and arrives in Clark at 11:05 a.m.

“Today, it’s not about coming in and flying out, it’s all about trust. And I know that Korean Air came here not only because of the revenue that is to be generated, but more importantly, and this was mentioned to me by Ambassador Han — ‘we are going to Clark, if we are going to expand our operations in the Philippines, it’s because we want to show faith and trust in the Republic of the Philippines,” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said during the inaugural ceremony for Korean Air’s new route at the Clark International Airport.

Mr. Tugade noted that Clark remains to be an “attractive and viable destination” for air traffic and logistics hub in Central Luzon and Northern Metro Manila.

Korean Air wanted to fly to Manila but due to slot restrictions at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was advised by DOTr to fly Clark instead. KE has 17 flights from Manila to Incheon every week and 14 flights a week to Mactan Cebu.

Korean Air now operates 460 flights per day to 125 cities in 44 countries.

Korean Air was established in 1969 and it is one of the world's top 20 airlines. It carried more than 26 million passengers in 2018.