On New Year’s Day, a technical glitch at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in the Philippines caused chaos. It disrupted nearly 300 flights, leaving tens of thousands of travelers stranded in the Southeast Asian hub. NAIA, the main gateway for travelers to the Philippines, serves the capital city of Manila and the surrounding region.
Overview of the technical glitch and its impact on flights and passengers
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), technical issues were first detected on January 1st. A total of 282 flights were either delayed, canceled, or diverted to other regional airports, and around 56,000 passengers were affected as of 4 p.m. local time. It is unclear how many overflights were impacted.
Comparison to air traffic control systems in other countries
In a press conference held on the evening of January 1st, Philippine Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista apologized for the inconvenience caused to passengers and explained that the airport’s central air traffic control system had suffered from a severe power outage. While there was a backup power supply, it failed to supply enough power. Bautista stated, “This was an air traffic management system issue. If you will compare (our airport) with Singapore’s, for one, there is a big difference — they are at least ten years ahead of us.”
Response of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to the incident
In response to the incident, the CAAP coordinated with affected airlines to provide food, refreshments, transportation, and accommodation “free of charge to all affected passengers.” Among the flights affected by the airspace outage was a Manila-bound Qantas plane that departed from Sydney on January 1st. Three hours into the eight-hour journey, Flight QF19 was forced to turn around mid-flight and return to Sydney due to the technical issue.
Plans for a Senate investigation into the incident
The Senate, led by Sen. Grace Poe, will launch an investigation into the technical glitch at NAIA in light of the incident. Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public services, stated in a statement, “There needs to be transparency and accountability from CAAP. We will, therefore, conduct a hearing as part of the Senate’s oversight function to determine who is liable and what we need to do to avoid the malfunction from happening again.”
Poe added that since Meralco, the Philippines’ largest electric power distribution company, has claimed that it did not encounter any power supply issues, the problem likely lies with the CAAP and its navigation equipment.
Statements from senators on the incident
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada called the nightmare experienced by air travelers a “black eye” for the entire Philippines, particularly its tourism industry. Sen. JV Ejercito also emphasized that CAAP “have a lot of explaining to do” and stated that the Air Traffic Management System should have a backup. Ejercito added, “Having a totally non-functioning radar system is not only dangerous for air travel but is a concern of national security.”
Flights at NAIA resumed on Sunday afternoon. It is too early to tell how the technical glitch and resulting disruptions will impact the Philippines’ tourism industry and the overall economy.
