Nearly 270 flights into or out of Manila were cancelled on Sunday (Jan 1) following technical issues and a reported power outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Travellers began experiencing issues in the early hours of New Year’s Day, with the airport authority saying in a Facebook post at 12.15am that several flight schedules may change “at any given time”.
In a subsequent statement, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said flights to and from the capital were on hold due to technical issues involving navigational air traffic management systems.
This prompted Philippine aviation authorities to halt all flights and trigger emergency protocols to address the situation and enable flights to resume as soon as possible.
In an update at 4pm local time, the airport authority said that its system was “partially restored”, thereby allowing limited flight operations.
“The glitch which affected the entire Philippines is a developing situation that is continuously being monitored … as of 1600H, a total of 282 flights were either delayed, cancelled or diverted to other regional airports affecting about 56,000 passengers in NAIA,” the authority said.
Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific earlier said there was a power outage at the Philippine Air Traffic Management Center.
In an advisory, the low-cost carrier said it was offering passengers of flights scheduled between Sunday and 0400 GMT (12pm local time) on Jan 2 “flexible options”, including free rebooking and converting tickets into travel vouchers for future use.
Philippine Airlines said a number of flights were diverted, cancelled and delayed, advising travellers to check the status of their journey before proceeding to the airport.
“This is a temporary situation, and we will take all necessary steps to restore normal schedules and bring diverted flights back to their original destination as soon as possible,” added the airline.
Giving a breakdown of the affected flights, the airport authority said a total of 268 flights were cancelled as of 4pm local time. These included both international and domestic flights on carriers such as Cebu Pacific, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Philippines AirAsia, AirSwift, Cebgo and PAL Express.
Seven flights – domestic trips by CebGo and Philippines AirAsia – were delayed.
Another seven flights – by carriers Gulf Air, Saudia Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Philippine Airlines – were diverted to cities like Hong Kong, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Davao.
Airport authorities distributed food packs and drinks to affected passengers. Photos shared by MIAA showed cartons of bottled water as well as snacks alongside dozens of travellers, some with young children, at the airport terminals.
Airlines such as Gulf Air, Korea Air and Saudia Airlines also rendered assistance. Images shared by the airport authority showed Korea Air stewardesses with a beverage cart as well as trays of meals. a
