WATCH: How stalled Chinese plane was removed from NAIA runway

Airport authorities used a telescopic crane to remove a Chinese aircraft that went off the Ninoy Aquino International Airport's (NAIA) main runway late Thursday.

The stalled Xiamen Air jet forced the closure of NAIA's runway 06/24 for about 36 hours and left thousands of passengers stranded, with several flights cancelled on Friday and Saturday.

The plane was carrying 157 passengers and 8 crew members when it veered off the runway upon landing at NAIA before midnight Thursday. Officials earlier said it was the pilot's second attempt to land.

The 43-ton aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was lifted and towed using a crane and transferred to the Balabag remote parking area.

It was removed around 2 a.m. Saturday, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesperson Eric Apolonio said.

Airport authorities reopened the runway at 11:28 a.m.

• NAIA reopens runway