Runway Excursion Closes Manila Runway

Operations at Manila Airport in the Philippines have returned to normal almost two days after a Chinese airliner left the runway on landing late Thursday. The Xaimen Airlines Boeing 737 ended up in a muddy infield after a second landing attempt in heavy rain. None of the 165 people on board were seriously hurt in the incident and subsequent evacuation but the travel plans of tens of thousands of people going through the country's busiest airport were disrupted.

The location of the disabled aircraft blocked a main runway and resulted in 165 cancellations on Friday and Saturday. It will be later this week before everyone affected has gotten where they were going. Authorities said the ground was too soft to support the cranes needed to lift the aircraft out of the mire but they managed to get it done about noon on Saturday local time.