Airport reopening pushed back to Thursday

The national Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced Sunday that Cuenca’s Marsical La Mar Airport will open Thursday afternoon. Earlier, airport officials said that normal operations would resume either Sunday night or Monday morning.

The Tame jet is stuck in mud. (El Tiempo)

The airport was closed last Thursday after a Tame Airlines jet from Quito skidded off the runway after landing.

Cuenca Mayor Marcelo Cabrera said he was disappointed by the delay. “The airport is critical to our economy and I hate to see it remain closed,” he said. He added that the closure affects hundreds of employees and businesses and forces 1,000 travelers a day to find other transportation.

Although the investigation into the cause of the accident has concluded, the Embraer 190 aircraft must be removed from the end of the runway before flights can resume. Roberto Yerovi, director of General of Civil Aviation, said that heavy equipment was on the scene working to dislodge the aircraft from the mud. He said that Tame is responsible for the removal.