UAE resumes Manila-bound flights

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

After the initial announcement of a 12-hour shutdown, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) resumed flight operations. NAIA management announced on Tuesday that a number of recovery flights have started flying from this airport.

On Tuesday Emirates flight EK336 bound for Manila left Dubai International Airport (DXB) at 5.56pm (UAE time).

The operations will resume for local carriers, which conducted preemptive evacuations due to Typhoon Tisoy. During the time period of 6 pm to 11 pm, they will be allowed to bring the evacuated aircraft back to the airport.

Etihad Airways.

Two of Etihad Airways flights from Abu Dhabi to Manila took off early on Wednesday from Abu Dhabi International Airport.

MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal said they have a total of 53 aircraft to manage during this time period, specifically 8 from Philippine Airlines, 15 from Air Asia, and 30 from Cebu Pacific and Cebgo. The NAIA has 84 parking slots available to accommodate these aircraft.

“With all those schedules coming in and bringing the aircraft, we are quite confident that the flights will go back to normalcy by tomorrow,” Monreal said.

Allowing recovery flights will ensure that majority of the flights can push through by tomorrow.

The Philippine flag carrier, Philippine Airlines, will also resume on December 4.