Manila airport scrambles to restore normality after power cut; about 65,000 passengers affected
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MANILA - The Philippines’ main gateway remained at reduced operations on Monday after a New Year power outage
A failure of primary and secondary power supplies caused the outage at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and it should take about 72 hours for airlines to normalise their operations, said Mr Cesar Chiong, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority.
There were 361 flights delayed, cancelled or diverted to other regional airports on Sunday, affecting about 65,000 passengers, while many other flights were rerouted around Philippine airspace.
Mr Chiong said the airport was handling a maximum of 15 flights an hour on Monday morning, down from the usual 20.
Several of the airport’s four terminals were crowded on Monday, with long queues of people trying to rebook flights while other weary passengers slept on chairs or on the floor.
Ms Kirana Mangkabong, 32, an overseas worker, said that after waiting for 24 hours, “we are now very exhausted from lack of sleep, my body is aching from all the waiting”.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines said it was arranging recovery flights out of the United States, Singapore and Malaysia and diverting some flights to domestic airports. Budget carrier Cebu Pacific cancelled 54 domestic flights on Monday.
Mr Chiong said the airport had introduced its own power system in 2018 but on Sunday, both the main and backup systems failed.
When they connected directly to the regular commercial electricity, they experienced over-voltage and power surge, he added, forcing equipment to fail including radar, communications, radio and Internet.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport has previously been ranked among the world’s worst international gateways, with flight delays a regular occurrence, and a history of upgrades being delayed or abandoned due to disputes between the airport and contractors.
The Philippines hopes to take pressure off by building multibillion-dollar airports in Manila’s surrounding provinces, including Cavite and also one in Bulacan, which is due to start operations in 2027.
Transport Minister Jaime Bautista apologised for the inconvenience to passengers.
He said the air traffic management centre, which controls inbound and outbound flights, “went down” due to a power outage that resulted in the loss of communication, radio, radar and Internet.
He said the outdated system should be upgraded immediately and that a backup was needed.
“This is an air traffic management system issue,” he said in a media briefing. “If you compare us with Singapore, for one, there is a big difference, it is at least 10 years ahead of us.”
The Transport Ministry has ruled out sabotage but vowed to investigate the airport chaos, which has renewed calls for the existing gateway to be upgraded and better operated.
“The government should look at this wake-up call to improve, either through public or private efforts, or a joint venture,” Mr George Barcelon, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Reuters.
His flight from Dubai was affected, as was that of tycoon Manuel Pangilinan, who on Sunday said his flight from Japan had to turn back halfway through and tweeted “Only in the PH. Sigh”, referring to the Philippines.
Ms Grace Poe, a former presidential candidate and head of the public services committee, called for a congressional inquiry into the incident, saying it was “a national security concern”.
Mr Joey Concepcion, a government business adviser, said the authorities should revive a proposal for a consortium to modernise the airport.
“Any inefficiencies in the airport translate to big losses in business down the line and are felt throughout the country,” he said. REUTERS
