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MANAGER: SIBU AIRPORT TO OPEN AT NOON TODAY

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The Boeing 737-800 aircraft which skidded upon landing at Sibu Airport on Saturday at 10.17pm.

SIBU: Sibu Airport remained closed yesterday following the skidding of a Malaysia Airlines Flight MH2718 aircraft upon landing on Saturday night.

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft which skidded upon landing at Sibu Airport on Saturday at 10.17pm.

Sibu Airport Manager, Zainuddin Abu Nasir, told New Sarawak Tribune yesterday evening: “Due to presence of several big holes made by the aircraft’s undercarriage on the grass area which needs regrading, we had to continue closing the runway and the airport will only open at noon tomorrow.

“We will resume repair work on the runway tonight. This part of the process is to ensure the safety of other aircraft when landing or taking off from the airport. We have issued the Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) to advise airlines on the closure. We are trying our very best.”

Zainuddin added that the incident was being investigated by three groups, namely, the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of the Ministry of Transport (MOT), Malaysia Airlines and the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).

He disclosed that the investigation teams arrived at Sibu Airport at 3pm yesterday.

Yesterday, a total of 3,787 passengers were stranded after 48 scheduled arrival and departure flights at Sibu Airport were cancelled to make way for the removal of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft involved in the incident.

Zainuddin said the cancelled flights involved those from Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Miri, Johor Bahru, Bintulu and Kuala Lumpur. Cancelled were 28 MASwings flights, four Malaysia Airlines flights and 16 AirAsia flights.

Some of the 3,787 passengers who were stranded at Sibu Airport yesterday.

The plane carrying 61 passengers and six crew members skidded upon landing during a heavy downpour on Saturday at 10.17pm. All on board disembarked safely via two slide rafts with no injuries reported, according to Malaysia Airlines in a statement released soon after the accident.

Zainuddin also said that Malaysia Airlines was working hard to retrieve all passenger baggage from MH2718 on Saturday night.

“The airline will arrange for the baggage to be sent to the owners as soon as possible. Safety remains of utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines and the airline will extend its full cooperation in the investigation of the incident,” he added.

Zainuddin told a press conference held at around 12.30am on Sunday that the airport fire and rescue team was immediately deployed during the incident.

Sibu Airport Manager, Zainuddin Abu Nasir (centre) and Sibu Resident, Hii Chang Kee (second left) at the press conference on Sunday morning.

“There were no casualties and all the passengers were transferred to the airport terminal building. No minor injuries were reported as well.

“The safety of all passengers was of utmost priority to Malaysia Airlines and an immediate investigation has been launched to determine the cause of incident,” he added.

Zainuddin revealed that Malaysia Airlines had conducted drills on “this kind of incident.”

“We have the personnel and facilities to meet any emergency,” he said.

Sibu Resident, Hii Chang Kee, who also spoke at the press conference, advised passengers to go for medical checkups and inform Malaysia Airlines if they encountered any health problems.

“As you know, this is a traumatic experience,” said Hii.

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