Airport and airline authorities join hands in attending to passengers affected by delayed flights caused by the technical issues in the air traffic facilities of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
THE Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has resumed normal operations Sunday afternoon following power outage that affected flights to and from Manila, Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said today, 01 January 2023.
Bautista said the Department of Transportation (DOTr), together with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), are extending all possible assistance to affected passengers.
“At around 9:49AM local time, the Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) which serves as the facility for controlling and overseeing all inbound and outbound flights and overflights within the Philippine airspace, went down due to power outage, resulting to loss of communication, radio, radar, and internet,” Secretary Bautista said in an online press conference.
Bautista explained that the disruption of flights was caused by a power supply at the NAIA, which affected flights in other airports.
“The primary cause identified was a problem with the power supply and the degraded uninterrupted power supply which had no link to the commercial power and had to be connected to the latter manually. The secondary problem was the power surge due to the power outage which affected the equipment,” he added.
The transport chief further said the ATMC resumed partial operations with limited capacity at 4:00 p.m., and normal operations resumed as of 5:50 p.m., while equipment restoration is still ongoing.
The DOTr and CAAP continue to coordinate with the airlines as well as the other airport and operators such as Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), Clark International Airport, and Davao International Airport to address the situation, according to Bautista.
He added that the DOTr likewise liaised with the airline partners for the provision of food, refreshments, transportation, lodging, and accommodation for all the cancelled flights which are to be provided by the airlines free of charge to all affected passengers.
Bautista also said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is very much aware of the situation and has ordered authorities to extend assistance to affected passengers.
