ILOILO CITY – The Department of Tourism has assured the safety of tourists traveling to Boracay via the Caticlan airport.

In an e-mailed statement, Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano said operations at the Caticlan airport have gone back to normal after a passenger plane hit a concrete barrier after it undershot the runway.

“We assure tourists that airport authorities have carried out rigorous runway inspections to ensure safety of the airport for take-off and landing,” Durano said.

The airport was closed to traffic for around five hours after a Zest Air plane from Manila fell short of the runway when it landed around 6:58 a.m. Sunday. Caticlan-bound flights were rerouted to the Kalibo airport until the Caticlan airport re-opened around 12:30 p.m.

Around 26 persons including three airport personnel were injured mostly suffering cuts and bruises.

Durano said that foreign tourists including Germans James Tauerman and Bernd Doehler, Canadian Mark Samson and Koreans Jun Sun and Koi Dyu “continued their holiday in Boracay shortly after they were treated for minor cuts and bruises.”*NPB

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