SEOUL– An alternative Korean Air plane on Tuesday brought home passengers stranded in Cebu following a runway excursion of one of its aircraft there this weekend, the air carrier said.
On Sunday, a Korean Air plane carrying 173 passengers and crew members overran the runway at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport on the third attempt to land following two failed attempts in bad weather. No one was hurt in the incident.
A Boeing 777 plane returned to Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 10 p.m. Tuesday, some 10 hours after departing from the Cebu airport, to bring back 11 passengers from the ill-fated plane, along with some 120 passengers who had been scheduled to board the same plane Monday, according to Korean Air Lines Co.
The aviation authorities in the Philippines shut down the airport following the accident. It has partially resumed operations to allow alternative flights from early Tuesday through 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The alternative plane’s departure from Incheon was pushed back by a couple of hours due to a delay in the approval process of the authorities there, the air carrier said.
South Korea’s land ministry sent its officials to the accident site to handle the aftermath, and they were in talks with the authorities there about conducting a probe of the incident, the ministry said.
The ministry said the damaged plane remains 250 meters off the end of the runway, as there is no crane yet at the airport large enough to move the aircraft.
Korean Air also has its officials working in Cebu to deal with the necessary support for the passengers, such as luggage delivery.
Source: Yonhap News Agency