Runway Excursion During Landing at Cebu Airport, Philippines
162 Passengers... No Casualties
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Establishes Accident Response Headquarters
President Woo Ki-hong "Apologies for the Concern... Working to Manage the Situation"
[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Min-young, Yoo Hyun-seok] A Korean Air passenger plane departing from Incheon and landing at Cebu Airport in the Philippines experienced a runway excursion (over-run) after landing. So far, no casualties have been reported, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and Korean Air are committed to thoroughly managing the accident response.
According to MOLIT on the 24th, the Korean Air A330-300 passenger plane (KE631), which departed Incheon International Airport at 6:35 PM the previous day and was heading to Mactan-Cebu Airport, made an abnormal landing around 11:07 PM on the 23rd (local time) due to adverse weather conditions.
The aircraft was carrying 162 passengers and 11 crew members. The passengers evacuated the plane urgently via slides and moved to a local hotel. No casualties have been confirmed to date. The aircraft is stopped near the runway with damage to the landing gear and the lower fuselage, resulting in the closure of the Cebu Airport runway.
MOLIT has established an accident response headquarters to ensure thorough handling of the runway excursion incident. Immediately after receiving the accident report, MOLIT appointed the Director of the Aviation Policy Office as the head of the response headquarters. They are currently assessing the damage and establishing communication channels with local diplomatic missions and airlines to respond to the accident. Korean Air is also investigating the exact cause of the accident. A replacement flight will be dispatched to transport passengers who were scheduled to return on the affected aircraft.
Woo Ki-hong, President of Korean Air, issued an apology statement on the day, saying, "I bow my head and sincerely apologize to everyone who supports Korean Air. Fortunately, no casualties have been confirmed, but I feel deeply sorry for causing concern to the passengers and their families."
He added, "While making every effort to manage the situation, we will do our best to ensure that passengers are served safely and comfortably without inconvenience. We will closely cooperate with local aviation and government authorities to resolve the situation as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, due to this accident, Jin Air flight 025 (93 passengers), which was scheduled to depart Incheon at 8:29 PM on the 23rd and fly to Cebu Airport, was diverted to nearby Clark Airport. Jeju Air flight 2406 (177 passengers), departing from Cebu to Incheon, was delayed.
Additionally, Jin Air flight 025, planned to take off from Incheon at 7:50 PM, and Air Busan flight 771, scheduled to depart from Busan at 8:00 AM, will determine their operation status after checking the local airport situation.
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