By Recto Mercene
A NEW restaurant at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 has been ordered closed by airport authorities following the collapse of a portion of its ceiling on Wednesday night.
One passenger suffered minor injuries when an about 7×3-meter gypsum board fell on Day Adam Warner, 30, a customer of the Sweet Ideas restaurant where the incident happened.
Terminal 3 Assistant Manager Josephine Reyes said Warner suffered a laceration in his right upper arm when the board fell on him.
Reyes said Warner was dining with his wife and son at the restaurant at the predeparture area around 7 p.m. when the ceiling fell. The family was bound for the United States via Tokyo.
The Warner family left the airport on board Delta Air 172 at around 10 p.m. the same day.
Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) employees said initial probe on the incident revealed the materials used for the construction of the restaurant’s ceiling are “weak.”
The construction of interiors and layouts of commercial spaces at the Terminal 3 are shouldered by the concessionaires themselves, according to Miaa Spokesman David de Castro.
De Castro said penalties will be imposed on the concessionaire “should it turn out the materials used in the [construction of the] restaurant are substandard.”
“The Sweet Ideas restaurant will remain closed until the ongoing investigation has been completed and the eateries renovations are completed,” a statement by the Miaa said.