Six-Hour Philippine Airspace "Shut Down": Here's What We Know so Far
Flying out on that day?
(SPOT.ph) Flying out on May 17? Heads up as some flights might be affected by the scheduled airspace shutdown from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., with at least one airline reminding passengers to always check the status of their flights for updates.
The shutdown, which would affect flights to and from major Philippine airports including Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Clark International Airport, and Mactan-Cebu International Airport, could be shortened and end early, depending on the maintenance activity, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said.
Some 38 to 40 domestic and international flights of Philippine Airlines alone may be affected by the shutdown, its spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said. Other airlines have yet to announce how it would affect its operations.
“For May 17, it’s the entire Philippine airspace that will be shut down because of the scheduled maintenance or replacement of the UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) of the CNS/ATM (Communications, Navigations, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management) or ‘yung air traffic management center natin," said Manila International Airport Authority Senior Assistant General Manager Bryan Co in a May 2 press briefing.
"For six hours, wala talagang activities sa ating airspace but the UPS is saying it could happen mas maikli, puwedeng shorter pero as far as planning is concerned, we're planning for six hours."
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Reasons for the Philippine Airspace Shutdown
The scheduled airspace shutdown is due to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines' (CAAP) request for its maintenance activities for the air traffic management system. On January 1, 2023, an air traffic management system disruption paralyzed the air transport of holiday travelers.
"As part of their improvement program and to replace some of the equipment that partly contributed to the disruption on January 1, they will be replacing UPS on May 17," Co said in a separate interview with ANC on May 2.
Impact of the Airspace Shutdown on Flights
"The corrective maintenance activity will mainly affect flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Clark International Airport (CRK), and Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), and several flights at the other 42 CAAP commercially operated airports," CAAP said in a statement.
This was scheduled even before the Labor Day power outage at the NAIA Terminal 3, which Co said was different compared to the New Year disruption as the power outage affected just one terminal.
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Repercussions on Passengers
"Let's say a flight that's supposed to arrive in Davao by 12 a.m., dapat nandon na siya sa Davao by 12. So dapat the last flights out of Manila would be at around 10:30 [p.m.] kasi lilipad pa eroplano," Co said.
Flights are expected to be allowed to depart by 6 a.m. while incoming flights may be expected at the airport between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., Co said. It can lift the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) before 6 a.m. so operations can go back to normal if CAAP gets the maintenance job done before the deadline, it said.
"'Yung operation hanggang 6 [a.m.] pero actually sobra na 'yung 6 [a.m.] e, baka mapaaga. Nagbigay lang kami ng allowance just in case na magkaron ng other issues within that timeframe kasi mahirap naman saktuhin mo dahil 'pag may issues pa, tatamaan 'yung flights, baka mas malaking problema 'yun," said CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio in a May 3 press conference.
PAL advised its passengers to check their e-mails and phone inbox in case there are announcements regarding flight cancellations or delays.
"We will carry out steps to protect you either by rebooking you on the next available flight, giving you options, or delaying your departures and delaying the arrivals and we will make the announcement accordingly." PAL's spokesperson told CNN Philippines.