Flight operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have started to return to normal as the weather began to improve with the gradual exit of tropical storm "Paeng" from the Philippine area of responsibility.
In a statement, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said the first flight to land after it opened the NAIA runway at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29. was Oman Air flight WY843 from Muscat.
Several diverted flights have started to arrive after NAIA runways. Delayed flights on Saturday have been re-timed to depart or arrive today after airlines submitted their proposed re-timings to MIAA and the CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines).
The NAIA runways were shut down at 4 p.m. on Saturday due to the strong winds brought by "Paeng" and the widespread flooding in various parts of the metropolis. A total of 295 flights out of the 618 scheduled flights for October 29 were cancelled affecting a total of 43,151 passengers as a result.
Metro Manila was placed under storm signal number 3 on Saturday. As a result, several local and international flights were disrupted as airline operators employed planned cancellations to save passengers from the trouble of getting to NAIA with streets in Metro Manila and nearby provinces being under flood water.
"Airline operators were quick to offer rebooking and hotel accommodation to those who found their way early to the airport while others were encouraged to self-manage their bookings online," the statement read.
A few passengers, however, opted to stay inside the Terminals and were servedkits and food by both MIAA and the airlines. A local carrier, on the other hand, offered free shuttle to Baclaran, Magallanes, Mall of Asia, and Pasay rotunda which resulted in the reduction of stranded passengers in NAIA Terminal 3.
"The MIAA operations teams are working closely with airline agents to expedite processing of passengers," the statement read.
"Outside the Terminals, the MIAA engineering and maintenance personnel cleared NAIA roads of fallen trees and no damage to vehicles or injuries to persons was reported. Traffic along main roads leading to the four NAIA Terminals was monitored to be manageable," it added.