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| Marinduque Airport, Gasan |
The ordinance arose from a meeting between Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General William K. Hotchkiss lll, Marinduque Governor Carmencita Reyes and the technical team of Philippine Airlines (PAL). The meeting tackled issues and concerns in the Gasan Airport that are very critical to the resumption of flights to Marinduque.
The CAAP had invoked safety issues and PAL reiterated that the presence of stray farm animals and residents passing through the airport premises poses a great risk to the safety of the passengers and airline crews and the aircraft itself during take-off and landings.
As a result of their meetings, Provincial Ordinance No.118 was enacted, mandating that the entire area of the Marinduque airport in Gasan be cleared of all domesticated stray animals.
It will be recalled that CAAP had directed aerodrome operators in all of its 41 commercial-run airports to develop and implement safety directive action plan and programs, approved by the CAAP Director General, to address the issue of unauthorized entry by pedestrians and animals into the aerodrome safety area (runway, taxiway and the ramp and apron).
The CAAP chief said runway incursions have become a major safety issue for CAAP, ICAO, airlines, air traffic management, airport operators and aviation-related organizations. He said airport safety programs should specifically address the subject of runway incursion prevention as it relates to the safe operations of aircraft, traffic management, vehicle pedestrian movement on the maneuvering area and aerodrome management.
He reminded all airport managers and OICs to fully comply with the provisions of the Civil Aviation Regulations to implement the relevant standards, requirements and recommended best practices relating to the safety in and around airports, particularly the runway safety area.