Flight operations at the NAIA Terminals are expected to be back to full normal operations on Wednesday or Thursday.
This was announced by Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Cesar Chiong yesterday, as he assured that the efforts to return to normal operations continues since they began January 1, when a system glitch affected hundreds of flights to, from and within the Philippines earlier on said date.
“May mga konting flights pa na cancelled due to operational requirements ng mga airlines. Punong- puno kasi mga flights kaya hindi ma-accommodate iyong na-cancel na flight ng pax,” Chiong said as he apologized for the inconvenience caused by the said disruption in flight operations and also thanked the passengers for their understanding.
Many flights had to be either cancelled, put on hold or diverted to, from and within the country due to technical issues with the navigational air traffic management system for the Philippine airspace which has affected departures and arrivals of scheduled flights January 1.
According to Philippine Airlines (PAL) spokesperson Ma. Cielo Villaluna, the total number of affected passengers from their end was 24,000 while the total number of affected flights was placed at 244, comprising 60 percent of the airline’s total scheduled flights yesterday. Cancellations covered the period mid-morning (past 10 a.m.) up to 5 p.m.
She added that from 5 p.m. onward, flights departed (delayed status) up to 2 a.m. on January 2.
“Today, we are focusing on recovery flight operations into the Manila hub. These are the planes/ passengers stranded in various international and domestic outstations. We aim to complete the return of these flights to Manila hub within the day. Under normal situations, regional/domestic flights return on the same day. We could not fly back our planes yesterday even with restart of airport operations as per 4 p.m. Notam because flight arrivals are limited to 15 arrivals per hour,” Villaluna said.
She added that it will take some time to fully restore normal schedules “as we reposition aircraft that had been held back or diverted to other airports and adjust flight timings based on revised clearances in coordination with the local authorities.
“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. As always, safety is our top priority, and we seek your kind understanding and patience as PAL works with the authorities and our service partners to make the best of a challenging situation. In addition to some delays caused by these adjustments, PAL has had to cancel some flights for January 2, 2023 as it continues to closely coordinate with the aviation authorities on the adjustment of flight schedules and clearances, as the authorities are working expeditiously to resolve the temporary problem,” Villaluna said.
Cebu Pacific (CEB) Corporate Communications Manager Romer Aguirre meanwhile said that CEB continues to review its operations following the technical glitch in the Air Traffic Management System of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
Aguirre added that “consequently, CEB has cancelled additional flights and is still working on the recovery of its network and normalizing its operations.”
Air Asia Philippines deputy spokesperson Carlo Carongoy said they are implementing additional flight adjustments through a recovery flight on January 3, 2023, ‘as we strive to normalize the operations in all of our airport destinations.’
“Guests are advised to regularly check registered sms and email for preflight notifications on flight adjustments. This is beyond our control but AirAsia is working closely with government and airport authorities until we fully resolve the situation,” he said. (JERRY S. TAN)
