Thousands stranded at Philippines int'l airport after power outage; officials rush to restore operations
Philippines airport
Chaos erupted at the Philippines’ main gateway, on New Year's Day (Sunday) after it faced a severe power outage, paralysing the country’s air traffic control and disrupting over 300 flights, as of Monday. In a statement, Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) acknowledged that the incident affected tens of thousands of passengers and they are working to resume full services.
By Sunday afternoon, airport authorities said the air traffic management system had been partially restored allowing limited flight operations. The NAIA serves as the main gateway for travellers to and from the country and is in the capital city Manila.
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According to Cesar Chiong, general manager of the international airport, it was the failure of primary and secondary power supplies that caused the outage and may take at least 72 hours to resume operations completely. The facility in question had introduced its own power system five years ago, however, during Sunday’s outage, both the main and backup systems failed.
Notably, the NAIA does not have the best reputation as it is ranked among the world’s worst international gateways which has been attributed to its flight backlogs and outdated systems.
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Meanwhile, the incident also prompted Philippine authorities to shut down the country’s airspace. As of Monday, 361 flights were delayed, cancelled or diverted which has affected nearly 65,000 passengers, however, the number does not account for people on other flights which were rerouted to the shut Philippine airspace, reported Reuters.
In a press conference, on Sunday, Philippine Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista apologised for the incident and inconvenience caused to the passengers attributing it to a severe power outage affecting the airport's central air traffic control system.
He added that the department will ensure food, refreshments, transportation and accommodation “free of charge” to the affected passengers, reported CNN. The transport minister also said that the outdated facility should be upgraded immediately, “If you will compare us with Singapore, for one, there is a big difference, they are at least 10 years ahead of us.” Furthermore, the department has since ruled out the possibility of sabotage but vowed to launch an investigation into the incident.
(With inputs from agencies)
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