AIR travelers from Manila to Davao City faced a hard time Thursday morning when a Cebu Pacific Air flight was delayed by almost two hours due to a backpack left unattended on a vacant passenger seat.
The passengers of CEB flight 5J 963 were also forced to deplane after the pilot announced there would be a security check due to “unidentified backpack” inside the aircraft.
The plane was supposed to leave Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 8:30 a.m. but the flight encountered a delay when authorities made the security measure since no one among the passengers on board claimed owning the pink bag.
But few minutes later, a lady passenger who was not able to make it to the boarding gate on time suddenly came and claimed she was the owner of the bag.
Airport officials said a ground crew brought the bag inside the plane while its owner was still at the airline counter making some payments. Joel Zurbano
It was not clear if the ground personnel informed the cabin crew about a bag that was brought inside and placed in the plane’s passenger seat.
Flight 5J963 was supposed to arrive in Davao airport at 10:25 am while its return flight to Manila, 5J964 scheduled to depart at 11:25 a.m. was also delayed.
Meanwhile, CEB management apologized to all affected passengers due to the incident that caused inconvenience and delay of their flight.
Manila International Airport Authority general manager Eddie Monreal advised passengers to be on alert and take care of their belongings while inside the airport terminals to avoid any inconvenience.