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MANILA – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has ordered an investigation of Cebu Pacific's after tarmac delays caused one woman to faint and left several passengers in a swelter on a flight from Manila to Cebu Friday.
In an advisory Saturday morning, the DOTr ordered the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to look into the incident after video and photos of the stifling cabin posted by one passenger went viral.
Video posted on Facebook by passenger Gin Durano showed passengers of Cebu Pacific flight 5J 575 fanning themselves, complaining of the heat inside the cabin as departure got delayed.
"Babies are crying, old people are complaining and there's a woman [who] got suffocated and now she has oxygen on because she can't breathe. We've been here for more than an hour inside the plane.
Freaking d*** hot!," said Durano.
"They didn't even do anything until [a] woman passed out. I Super Love You Cebu Pacific!," she said in sarcasm.
The flight was supposed to leave Manila for Cebu at 5:05 p.m.
Cebu Pacific said in a statement that the flight was delayed "due to debris that had to be cleared from the runway."
See Video posted at Facebook:
In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Charo Logarta-Lagamon, Cebu Pacific corporate communications director, said an ambulance and medical crew came to care for a passenger who had fainted at around 6 p.m.
“Around 6 p.m., dumating na ang ambulansya, then the passenger had already been attended to. The pilot, the crew, requested for another aircraft. The pilot deemed it prudent to request if the aircraft could be replaced,” she said.
Afterwards, the passengers deplaned and were transferred to another plane. The flight finally took off around 7:30 p.m., and arrived in Cebu at 8:52 p.m.
"Following reports from our crew that the cabin temperature was warm, Cebu Pacific decided to change the aircraft for the comfort of our passengers," the airline said in its statement.
Lagamon attributed the incident to "a confluence of factors beyond our control," saying these "created a situation where passengers became agitated."
"There were some passengers who became unruly. The FB post only shows some of it, there were some shouting, they got hot-tempered, and shouted at the crew," she said in an interview.
"There was another who got nervous, and the medical team had to calm her down. Security had to come in," she said.
Lagamon said the flight crew immediately gave water to the passengers during the wait.
“These are things that we did not want to happen, but nonetheless we immediately assisted," she said.
As of this writing, Cebu Pacific said it was still investigating why the temperature in the cabin rose, and if it was due to any aircraft issue.
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