MANILA, Philippines – Passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) may experience flight delays after a Cebu Pacific plane got stuck in a grassy portion of a taxiway, causing ramp congestion.

The incident happened early Friday morning, July 12, while the A321 aircraft was repositioning from Bay 111 to Bay 122A of NAIA Terminal 3. No passengers or crew were onboard, and no injuries were reported, according to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).

The aircraft has been removed out of the grassy area and is now being towed to Cebu Pacific’s Airline Operations Center as of 1:56 pm, according to Cebu Pacific.

The MIAA Aircraft Recovery worked for hours to remove the aircraft from the grassy area. A photo shared by MIAA shows that the plane’s tire was stuck in the mud. Because of the incident, bays 110 to 112 could not be used. Only three parking bays were available for wide-body aircraft.

“The MIAA seeks the understanding of all passengers whose flights may be affected due to expected delays in flight schedules. They are advised to wait for airline announcements regarding revised timings,” MIAA said in a statement released Friday morning.

Cebu Pacific also informed passengers that there may be delays to flights due to the disabled aircraft.

“This situation is causing ramp congestion and subsequent delays in our operations. Our team is actively working to resolve this issue promptly. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and sincerely appreciate your understanding,” Cebu Pacific said in its statement.

The low-cost airline also said that the plane was not operating a flight, landing, or taking off when the incident happened. In a clarification sent to reporters, Cebu Pacific added that the aircraft “got stuck on the ground” while going through its parking procedure, which was why it had no flight number, or passengers and flight crew.

As of 9:30 am, MIAA advised there were 6 delayed flight arrivals as follows:

• United Airlines (UA) – UA 189 San Francisco-Manila
• Scoot (TR) – TR 396 Singapore-Manila
• Emirates (EK) – EK 336 Dubai-Manila
• Cebu Pacific (5J) – 5J 050 Melbourne-Manila
• Cebu Pacific (5J) – 5J 309 Guangzhou-Manila
• Jetstar (3K) – 3K 763 Singapore-Manila

There are also 7 delayed flight departures as follows:

• Cebu Pacific (5J) – 5J 110 Manila-Hongkong
• All Nippon Airways (NH) – NH 820 Manila-Narita
• Cathay Pacific (CX) – CX 912 Manila-Hongkong
• Jetstar (3K) – 3K 763 Manila-Kansai
• Emirates (EK) – EK 337 Manila-Dubai
• Scoot (TR) – TR 397 Manila-Singapore
• United Airlines (UA) – UA 190 Manila-San Francisco

The public can contact MIAA through the following channels:

• Flight information: (02) 8877-1109 local 2183
• Hotline: 8877-1111
• TextNAIA: 0917-839-6242

– Rappler.com