Cotabato flights resume as haze starts subsiding in Mindanao
COTABATO CITY – Commercial flights here have resumed after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) gave the green light for Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific (CebuPac) to resume air travel to and from Cotabato, PAGASA on Saturday said.
Roy Jumawan, PAGASA weather specialist, said “the skies have been cleared Saturday morning so we give the go signal” to resume commercial flights.
The thick blanket of haze reportedly come from Indonesia where forest fires have remained uncontrolled.
However, Jumawan added, the haze has not been totally eliminated although the region experienced windy afternoon with light to moderate rain.
Poor visibility due to haze have forced airline companies to cancel Manila-Cotabato and Cotabato-Manila flights since October 17 until October 23.
Jumawan said on Saturday that Cebu Pacific flights 5J 885 (ManilaCotabato), and 5J 886 (CotabatoManila), and Philippine Airlines (PAL) flights PR 2959 (Manila)-Cotabato have resumed.
“Hopefully the skies will continue to improve in the days ahead,” Jumawan said. “But haze is still here although its thinner now,” he added.
The last flight to leave Cotabato Airport Saturday was PAL at 12:15 p.m. Saturday. Three commercial flights service the Manila-CotabatoManila route – two CebPac and one PAL flights.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, Jr., regional health secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, issued on Friday an advisory warning folks on possible health problems the haze can cause.
“The haze carries dust particles that can contaminate the air we breathe and cause itchy eyes, dry throat and cough, sneezing and allergy. Let’s avoid going around breathing the air in areas where the haze from Indonesia had spread,” he said in the advisory.
He said people in areas below skies now blanketed with haze need to drink plenty of water and take anti-cough medicines under the guidance of physicians once afflicted with cough.