Korean Air Passenger Plane Deviates from Runway at Cebu Airport, Philippines... "No Casualties Reported So Far"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 24th that it is in consultation with Cebu Airport authorities regarding the towing measures for the Korean Air passenger plane that veered off the runway while landing at Cebu Airport in the Philippines, and plans to deploy alternative flights once the runway is back to normal operation.
Earlier, the Korean Air A330-300 passenger plane (KE631), which departed from Incheon International Airport at 6:35 PM the previous day and was heading to Mactan-Cebu Airport, veered off the runway during landing at around 11:07 PM local time on the 23rd due to bad weather. Passengers evacuated urgently via the slide and moved to a local hotel. So far, no casualties have been confirmed.
There were 173 people on board including crew members. By nationality, there were 64 Americans, 47 Koreans, 30 Filipinos, 5 Canadians, 4 Russians, 3 British, 2 each from Japan and Mongolia, and 1 each from Brazil, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and India.
Currently, all passengers are staying at nearby hotels, and among them, 17 received medical treatment at the medical clinic inside Cebu Airport and are now staying at hotels. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has requested the Korean Consulate in Cebu, Philippines, to contact the accident response headquarters if there are additional hospital visits.
The Ministry is preparing to dispatch three accident investigators from the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board and two aviation safety supervisors from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, coordinating flight arrangements for the dispatch. The accident plane is currently stopped beyond the end of runway 22 at Cebu Airport, causing the runway to be closed. The Ministry is consulting with Cebu Airport authorities on towing the aircraft and plans to deploy alternative flights once the runway is back to normal operation.
Due to this accident, Jin Air flight 025 (with 93 passengers), which was scheduled to depart from Incheon at 8:29 PM on the 23rd and fly to Cebu Airport, was diverted to nearby Clark Airport, and Jeju Air flight 2406 (with 177 passengers), departing from Cebu to Incheon, was delayed.
Additionally, Jin Air flight 025, which was 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 decide on their operation after checking the local airport situation.
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