Korean Aircraft with 173 passengers overshoots Cebu airport runway

Vladimer Miranda, David Luna, Aliza Arcilla | The Capitol

Posted on October 24, 2022 | 1:05 PM

Korean Air arriving from Seoul, South Korea swerved off the grassy runway of the Mactan Cebu International Airport. Photo by Randyl Dungog via REUTERS.

A Korean aircraft crashed into the Mactan Cebu International Airport’s (MCIA) runway near midnight on Sunday, October 23.

173 passengers were on board for the flight KE631 arriving from Seoul, South Korea as it overshot while trying to land for the third time in poor weather, crashing on a patch of grass at the MCIA.

This incident has caused the airport to temporarily suspend all international and domestic flights and other operations within the vicinity of the runway.

"The incident has necessitated the temporary closure of the MCIA runway to allow for the safe removal of the aircraft. For now, all international and domestic flights to and from MCIA are canceled until further notice," MCIA says in a statement.

In a Facebook post, Lapu-Lapu City disaster chief Nagiel Bañacia confirmed that there were no casualties in the incident.

"Passengers have been escorted to three local hotels and an alternative flight is being arranged," the airline said of flight KE361.

Meanwhile, at least four incoming flights were diverted to Manila and a nearby airport as the aircraft is still stalled on the runway, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said.

The authorities are hoping to remove the plane by tomorrow and investigations are still ongoing to confirm the cause of the incident.