Hundreds of flights to and from Manila have been halted due to an air traffic control malfunction, stranding passengers at airports.
Tens of thousands of travelers have been stranded at airports across the Philippines after a power outage caused air traffic control to malfunction at the country’s busiest hub in Manila.
The failure of communications and radar equipment on Sunday forced hundreds of flights to be canceled, delayed or diverted, affecting some 65,000 passengers at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, according to the airport operator.
Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista apologized to people for the halt in flights, blaming the power outage for the blackout which also affected operations at other airports in the country.
He said that the existing outdated installation should be upgraded immediately and a backup system was also needed.
It is [an] air traffic management system problem,” he told reporters. “If you compare us to Singapore, on the one hand there is a big difference, they are at least 10 years ahead of us.”
The Manila International Airport Authority said in a statement that “the system has been partially restored allowing limited flight operations” as of 08:00 GMT. By late evening, eight flight arrivals and eight departures had been authorized, according to the operator.
“Flight delays and diversions are only precautionary measures to ensure the safety of passengers, crew and aircraft,” the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said.
The blackout hit as many people were planning to travel after the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Photos and videos circulating on social media showed long queues at the airport and airline staff handing out food and drink packs to stranded passengers.
There were chaotic scenes at check-in counters across the country as thousands tried to rebook tickets or find out when their flights might take off.
Others who had boarded their plane before the glitch was announced waited for hours and then had to disembark.
WATCH: Gulf Air, Korean Airlines and Saudia Airlines distribute food and drink packs to passengers on delayed flights caused by technical problems at the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines air traffic facilities. 📸 MIAA pic.twitter.com/0j1BYHOgmv
– Gerard de la Peña (@gerarddelapena) January 1, 2023
Tycoon Manny Pangilinan, chairman of Philippine telecommunications conglomerate PLDT Inc, tweeted that he was flying from Tokyo to Manila when the plane was diverted to Haneda Airport in Japan due to “radar and navigation facilities” failing.
“6 hours of unnecessary flight, but the inconvenience for travelers and the loss for tourism and business are appalling. Only in the PH. Sigh,” Pangilinan wrote.
On Sunday, 361 flights were delayed, canceled or diverted to other regional airports, while many other flights were forced to reroute to avoid Philippine airspace.
“It will take about 72 hours for the airlines to normalize their operations,” said Cesar Chiong, chief executive of the Manila International Airport Authority.
Philippine Airlines and low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific both said they were offering passengers scheduled to fly on Sunday a free rebooking or the option to convert tickets into vouchers.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport has once been rated among the worst international gateways in the world, with frequent flight delays and a history of delayed or abandoned upgrades due to disputes between the airport and contractors.
The Philippines hopes to ease the pressure by building multi-billion dollar airports in provinces surrounding Manila, including Cavite and also in Bulacan, which is expected to start operations in 2027.
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