By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Air travel was disrupted across several routes Sunday as the southwest monsoon or “habagat” forced the cancellation of two flights and affected seven others, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) reported.
As of 11 a.m., two Cebgo flights between Clark and Masbate were cancelled because of strong wind and tailwind conditions in Masbate, affecting a combined 113 passengers.
The cancelled flights were:
- DG6171 — Clark to Masbate, 42 passengers
- DG6172 — Masbate to Clark, 71 passengers
Two other flights were diverted to Mactan-Cebu, while five flights were forced to make a go-around before eventually landing safely.
The diverted flights were Cebu Pacific CEB472, traveling from Bacolod to Manila, which landed in Mactan at 5:51 a.m., and Malaysia Airlines MAS708 from Kuala Lumpur to Manila, which was diverted to Mactan and landed at 5:22 a.m.
The five flights that conducted go-arounds were PAL730 (Manila-Bangkok), CEB3952 (Davao-Manila), CEB747 (Hanoi-Manila), APG780 (Mactan-Manila) and GAP2982 (Tacloban-Manila).
CAAP said all five flights eventually landed safely.
The disruptions came as habagat continued to bring unfavorable weather conditions to parts of the country, prompting aviation authorities and airlines to closely monitor wind and other flight conditions.
Passengers were advised to check with their respective airlines for the latest flight status and allow for possible delays as weather conditions remain unsettled.
With the southwest monsoon still affecting the country, further changes to flight schedules remain possible.
