RUNWAY REPAIR, CLOSURE

Asphalt overlay, which is long due, is scheduled in September, for 2 weeks for 8 hours every day: Mactan airport authority Airlines advised to adjust their flight schedules, passengers of domestic & international flights to manage their trip to airport

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) has advised airline companies to adjust their flying schedules because the runway will be closed eight hours a day for two weeks in September.

Assistant General Manager Glenn Napuli said MCIAA has allocated P240 million for the asphalt overlay of the entire runway, which has a length of 3,420 meters and a width of 30 meters.

“The airlines are already informed of the planned closure of the runway this September. Definitely, no flights will come at the time the runway is closed because it is already planned and scheduled,” Napuli said.

Napuli also said that they will not be able to accept emergency landings during this period.

“They will have to land in the other nearest airports. This is a necessary sacrifice that we need to undertake in order to serve our customers better,” Napuli said.

Engineer Eduardo Ginete, chief of the Civil Works Division, said that they will close the runway from midnight to 8 a.m., affecting mostly international flights.

Ginete said the airport authority is on the lookout for contingencies and impact issues.

“We have risk committee and other stakeholders making sure that everything is minimal. I am focusing on the implementation aspect, making sure that we can complete the runway overlay project on cost and on time,” Ginete said.

With four contractors working on the project, it should be finished in 14 days.

Napuli said the asphalt overlay of the airport runway was due in 2012 yet, but they focused on the expansion of the existing passenger terminal and the construction of the Terminal 2 (T2), which is now operational.

Last March, Napuli said, they closed the runway for four hours a day for two weeks to rejuvenate the landing area.