Operations of NAIA fully resume after almost six hours
Operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) resumed at 7 pm Sunday after nearly six hours caused by power outage and technical issues at the Air Traffic Management Center at the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
This resulted in airplanes being unable to land or take off from NAIA.
''We expect the operations to normalize at this point,''said CAAP head Manuel Tamayo in a late Sunday press conference. He added that the backup system has to be restored.
Tamayo said there have been 10 arrivals since partial operations resumed at 4 pm.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista assured the public ''the DOTr (Department of Transportation) is on top of the situation.''
''We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to the affected passengers of today's suspension of operations at NAIA and other airports in the country,'' said Bautista.
Around 65,000 passengers were stranded at the four terminals of NAIA after a total of 361 flights were delayed, cancelled or diverted to other regional airports.
Bautista cited the help given by the Davao, Mactan-Cebu and Clark Airports to accomodate diverted flights.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said it will not close the runway ''for the next few days''. ''We are expecting 72 hours for them (airlines) to fully recover the flights,''said MIAA General Manager Cesar Chiong.
Tamayo said one of the uninterrupted power supply (UPS) ''failed and unexpectedly, commercial and standby power failed to work.''
He said the technology of the communication, navigation and commerce is outdated.
CAAP said the first plane allowed to land was Philippine Airlines PR222 from Brisbane, Australia. It landed at Bay 36 of NAIA Terminal 2.
At 5:33 pm, a Cathay Pacific plane was allowed to leave NAIA Terminal 3. CX930 was bound for Hong Kong.
Among international flights affected were Japan Airlines' Narita-Manila-Narita flight JL 741/742, Cebu Pacific's (5J922/5J923) Manila-Fukuoka-Manila, (5J828/5J827) Manila-Osaka-Manila and (5J5056/5057) Manila-Narita-Manila and Philippine Airlines' (PR432) Manila-Narita and (PR408) Manila-Osaka.
''This is a developing situation,'' said PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna in an interview with dzBB, adding that ''the plan is to have partial restoration of flights.''
The Manila International Airport Authority and the Airline Operators Council are working on a recovery schedule of flights that were cancelled, the Department of Transportation said.
Ground crew of airline companies and airport authorities were seen handing food and beverage to its passengers who have assembled at the four terminals of NAIA.
''Lots of people are inside the airport, hoping there will be flights today,'' said Villaluna. DMS
