Flight schedules to and from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) were thrown completely off thanks to a Xiamen Airlines plane skidding off the runway while landing. The incident left the airport runway blocked, disrupting most flight international and domestic flights.
Unpleasant sight leaving Manila last Friday. Xiamen Airlines 737 on the grass minus landing gear and one engine (visible to the left). Thank God no one was killed. pic.twitter.com/heCFNzjjw6
— Alexander Neill (@ANeill_IISS) August 20, 2018
It took around 36 hours before Xiamen Airlines’ plane was cleared off the runway, but the end of problems for NAIA was far from getting cleared, as evidenced by the deluge of posts on social media.
News outlets have also reported that there are still many passengers, especially overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are still encountering problems flying out of Manila and back to their country of employment.
Wake-up call
Many government officials and passengers are also calling the incident a wake-up call for the agencies involved.
One thing that was revealed by the fallout of the Xiamen Air incident is that NAIA does not have a disaster playbook. that theorizes all possible incidents at NAIA and prepares templates for response. It’s a critical component of managing a vital installation like an airport.
— Ruffy Biazon (@ruffybiazon) August 20, 2018
NAIA Terminal 1 Departures at around noon. Day 3 since airport paralysis and here we are. Frustrating. pic.twitter.com/1jX9mHlc2j
— GRACE POE (@SenGracePOE) August 19, 2018
Nakaperwisyo na ang Xiamen airlines, dinuraan pa ang protocols? How the EFF does that happen? Sino padrino? Who is in charge?
Xiamen mounted 4 recovery flights on Saturday w/o clearance from MIAA, causing a problem w gate assignment of planes that delayed https://t.co/Uzo9u9CAoH— inday espina varona (@indayevarona) August 19, 2018
China commentary
Malakas kasi ang loob ng Xiamen Airlines kasi nga ang Presidente ng bansang ito ay tuta ng China.😏
— Sir McNeil Amandy of Cambridge Dictionary (@MarcusNeil) August 20, 2018
Passenger’s rights
The question here is what are our passenger’s rights in the Philippines? Who is liable and who will be responsible to give affected passengers their compensation? Xiamen Airlines? NAIA? Or the airlines where we booked our flights from?
— Iska of The North (@Iska2005) August 20, 2018
NAIA/MIAA shared a post on Facebook last Sunday what travelers need to know and what instances they can collect compensation.
Being kind
Others chose to go the more compassionate route, calling out locals for bad behavior, and commending the frontline responders to the airport fiasco.
Foreigners are patiently waiting pero ung mga pinoy pa ung naninigaw and nagmumura ng mga personnel??? Xiamen airlines may be the culprit of all the delays today but I think we should be thankful na lang because no one got gurt after the crash?? Hayyyyy
— Niña Alyssa (@NINhydrinnnn) August 18, 2018
Cheers to the contractual ground staff and contractual employees of airlines at NAIA. They are at the frontlines trying to fix this mess. And so we hope they get regularized and that employers don’t claim they don’t do essential work.
— Tonyo Cruz (@tonyocruz) August 19, 2018
NAIA incident: Pitiful for passengers & crew.I was in phone queue for almost 2hrs to rebook my parents’ flight.Both were stranded at T2. An agent answered,her voice was coarse.She sounded beat.I told her, “let’s get on with this at your pace”. She said thank you. #choosekindness
— anna rae bartolome (@annebarty) August 17, 2018
Pinoy wit
Others, still, were able to showcase their wit in the midst of the tension, uncertainty, and waiting.
Where’s Waldo. NAIA Deluxe Version. pic.twitter.com/jG394bg1xk
— Miss Maggie (@MiaMagdalena) August 19, 2018
Many passengers who missed their flights now call NAIA-1 as “Naiwan”.
— Federico Pascual🇵🇭 (@FDPascual) August 18, 2018
There will be a senate investigation into the incident, while other government agencies and offices are also looking into solutions, such as airport renovation, expansion, and even relocation.
Header image courtesy of Marianne Bermudez/Inquirer.
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