Passengers and airport staff alike patiently await a change in the weather, Monday, at the Manila airport in the Philippines. Winds have carried the ash from Taal volcano, which is about 57 miles away from the airport, interrupting all air traffic to and from the Philippine capital. As of Monday afternoon, well over a hundred flights had been canceled. Photo by David Butterfield
Commonwealth Ports Authority Executive Director Christopher Tenorio said Skymark Airlines and Jeju Air canceled their flights on Monday.
Skymark, which launched its Narita-Saipan regular flight service in November, was supposed to have an inbound flight arriving on island at 3 p.m. while Jeju Air’s flight was set to arrive at 3:30 p.m.
But Tenorio said because of the volcano eruption, “we have two flights that were cancelled for today.”
Asked about the flights on Tuesday, he replied: “It depends on the airlines’ decision and the situation with the volcanic eruption.”
Tenorio noted that cancelation of the flights “is going to affect our tourism industry.”
The Marianas Visitors Authority, he added, has contacted him, “and they will try to come up with a plan to address the situation, which is beyond our control.”
He added, “Hopefully everything will be okay soon so we can resume our flights.”
