MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Airlines in the Philippines have started rescheduling flights that will be affected by the six-hour shutdown of Philippine airspace on May 17.
According to MIAA Senior Assistant General Manager Bryan Co, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s “lean” hours, from 12 midnight to 6 a.m in the morning, would be affected by the shutdown of the Philippine airspace.
But Co assured that this upcoming airspace shutdown would not be as catastrophic as the previous one, referring to the New Year’s Day mishap when the Philippine airspace was shut down after the CNS/ATM conked out because of a circuit breaker that shorted after the air traffic management system’s UPS failed, affecting some 60,000 passengers and disrupting at least 300 flights.
“That’s why they chose that window of time to do the repairs and upgrades because we know that’s the least disruption to our airport operations,” he said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) hopes to minimize the impact on travel and trade by reducing the maintenance period. The Manila International Airport Authority has projected that approximately 130 flights with around 20,000 passengers will be disrupted by the resulting closure of local airspace during the maintenance period.
Carmina Romero, a representative for Cebu Pacific, said that the budget airline would issue travel advice as soon as all the flights that would be impacted were known.
“We are still assessing, (but we) will release an advisory on the impact on our flight schedules,” Romero said, adding that Cebu Pacific, which flies an average of 2,600 trips per week, would send out an advisory at least a week before May 17.
The CAAP will issue a Notice to Airmen, and the public will be informed of the corrective maintenance activity at the Philippine Air Traffic Management Center on May 17.
Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and AirAsia Philippines have all issued advisories on the impact on their respective flight schedules, with AirAsia Philippines having to cancel and reschedule some of its flights to Taipei, Incheon, Bangkok, and Kota Kinabalu, as well as domestic flights to Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, Puerto Princesa, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, and Tacloban.
CAAP, airport authorities across the country, and airlines will also be meeting Wednesday morning to discuss plans for the shutdown. – WhatALife!/Jayve
Also read: Cebu Pacific’s 3-Day P1 Sale Takes Off with Incredible Deals on Domestic and International Flights
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