No repeat of New Year’s Day NAIA outage — CAAP
The CAAP said that an uninterruptible power supply serves as a backup source of power to ensure that the air traffic control system will always run.
Daily TribuneThe CAAP said that an uninterruptible power supply serves as a backup source of power to ensure that the air traffic control system will always run.
The Department of Transportation has moved to ensure against a repeat of the major air traffic shutdown that caused widespread disruption and stranded thousands of passengers on New Year's Day 2023.
As the country prepares to usher in 2024, DoTr Secretary Jaime Bautista on Friday inspected the air traffic control, communications, navigation, and surveillance systems of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
As part of Biyaheng Ayos: Pasko 2023, the CAAP assured Bautista that the Communication, Navigation, Surveillance and Air Traffic Management, or CNS-ATM, of the country is working perfectly.
Likewise, the CAAP said that the UPS, or uninterruptible power supply, serves as a backup or redundant source of power to ensure that the air traffic control system will always run.
"All facilities at CAAP are in order, well maintained, and fully manned," Bautista said.
He also checked the Philippine Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Center at the CAAP for the search and rescue operation in case of an emergency. Likewise, Bautista was informed of CAAP's "No Leave Policy" during the holiday rush.
Additionally, 45 commercially operating airports under CAAP are still on heightened alert due to the expected increased volume of air passengers this peak season.
On 1 January 2023, a power outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country's main gateway, affected the central air traffic control system. At the time, the backup power supply failed to provide sufficient power to restore the system.
All flights to and from NAIA were grounded for several hours. In all, 280 flights were affected, including cancellations, diversions, and delays.
Approximately 56,000 passengers were stranded at the airport and other affected locations.