Taiwan also diverts planes to Clark due to ‘Butchoy’

CLARK FREEPORT— Taiwan evacuated its commercial planes to the Clark International Airport (CRK) here on Friday (July 8) as “Nepartak” (known in the Philippines as “Butchoy”) developed into a supertyphoon outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

READ: ‘Butchoy’ bears down on Taiwan

From Thursday afternoon to Friday noon, a total of 10 planes have been moved to the CRK here. These include TransAsia Airways A320 and A321, three ATR72 aircraft, Mandarin Airlines A320, two ERJ190, and two TigerAir Taiwan A320s, according to Ding Aranas, CRK terminal operations manager.

READ: ‘Butchoy’ forces planes to divert to Clark

The CRK is designated as an emergency facility for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Formerly the Military Airlift Command of the United States 13th Air Force, CRK spans 2,367 hectares with a 3.2-kilometer runway.

At press time, three local airlines also diverted ten of their planes to CRK, because of rains dumped by Butchoy in Metro Manila.