MANILA – Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) passengers stranded for hours at the Mactan Cebu International Airport after their plane overshot the runway Friday night have all been flown to Manila early Saturday morning, the airline said.
In an advisory, CEB said Cebu Pacific flight 5J556, the last flight carrying affected passengers from flight 5J570, left for Manila at 4 a.m. Saturday. The airline said all 435 passengers had been flown to Manila as of 5:30 a.m., or roughly 11 hours since the incident.
As of this posting, the CEB aircraft involved in the incident remains grounded at the Mactan airport amid the investigation.
According to the airline, the nose wheel or front landing gear of the aircraft “left the paved surface during a 180 degree turn while taxiing prior to take off.”
“The aircraft that figured in the incident will be subjected to thorough inspection before it is used again for passenger service,” it said.
The Mactan airport runway was reopened at 10:45 p.m. Friday, more than four hours after the incident.
The CEB plane overshot the runway at 6:35 p.m. Friday as it taxied to the main runway for takeoff.
The passengers, which included three infants, were safe. They deplaned at 8:45 p.m. and were later rebooked for free on flights to Manila.