(UPDATE) What Happened at NAIA on New Year's Day? Here's What We Know So Far

(Editor's Note: This story was updated at 3 p.m. on January 2, 2022)

(SPOT.ph) A technical glitch shut down Philippine airspace on the first day of 2023, derailing the travel plans of tens of thousands who are preparing to return on work as early as January 3. Here's what we know so far from official accounts.

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What caused the NAIA glitch?

The Air Traffic Management Center of the Civil Aviation Authority was beset with technical issues in the morning of January 1 that suspended airport operations until the afternoon of that day, said Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista. A total of 268 flights were cancelled that day, ABS-CBN News reported.

That facility controls and oversees all inbound and outbound flights and overflights within Philippine airspace, said Bautista, who blamed a "problem with the power supply" for the issue. As its name implies, the Air Traffic Management Center has the bird's eye view of all aircraft that move inside the country's airspace and its duty is to make sure that all flights proceed without incident.

Power distributor Meralco said there was "no trouble or issues" with its facilities that would cause the flight disruptions.

Two UPS or Uninterruptible Power Supply units that power the Air Traffic Management Center failed, forcing it to switch to commercial power that eventually led to a surge in electricity, MIAA General Manager Cesar Chiong told ANC. A UPS is a standby power source that protects gadgets like WiFi systems and personal computers from surge and keep them running in case of an outage.

"That's part of the main issue why there was no radio, there was no radar, there was no internet and there was no communication," Chiong said.

How about flights cancellations and delays?

Based on air traffic interruptions during past storms, Chiong said airport operations could normalize within 72 hours. Transport authorities and airlines advised passengers to check the status of their flights before proceeding to the airport if they are scheduled to depart in the coming days.

Bautista said the DOTr was coordinating with airlines to provide food, lodging and rebooking or refund assistance for affected passengers.

Cebu Pacific advised passengers with flights until 11:59 p.m. of January 3 that they could voluntarily postpone their travel and avail of free rebooking or travel fund credits via the airline's website.

Philippine Airlines has an online request hub for travelers who are out of the Philippines and may not have access to phone lines without roaming costs. At least one traveler told SPOT.ph that the virtual queue on January 1 ran to the hundreds.

Here are the flight cancellations on January 2, according to the Manila International Airport Authority:

INTERNATIONAL

• 5J 845 Manila-Duba
• 5J 760 Jakarta-Manila
• 5J 502 Kuala Lumpur-Manila
• 5J 804 Singapore-Manila 

DOMESTIC

• 5J 885 Manila-Cotabato
• 5J 504 Manila-Tuguegarao
• 5J 891 Manila-Caticlan
• 5J 625 Manila-Puerto Princesa
• 5J 6055 Caticlan-Manila
• 5J 447 Manila-Iloilo
• 5J 381 Manila-Cagayan de Oro
• 5J 473 Manila-Bacolod
• 5J 963 Manila-Davao
• 5J 785 Manila-Butuan
• 5J 627 Manila-Dumaguete
• 5J 451/452 Manila-Iloilo-Manila
• 5J 383/384 Manila-Cagayan de Oro-Manila
• 5J 561/562 Manila-Cebu-Manila
• 5J 567/568 Manila-Cebu-Manila
• 5J 619/620 Manila-Tagbilaran-Manila
• 5J 373/374 Manila-Roxas-Manila
• 5J 325/326 Manila-Legazpi-Manila
• 5J 506/507 Manila-Tuguegarao-Manila
• 5J 655/656 Manila-Tacloban-Manila
• 5J 703/704 Manila-Dipolog-Manila
• 5J 895/896 Manila-Caticlan-Manila
• 5J 951/952 Manila-Davao-Manila
• 5J 485/486 Manila-Bacolod-Manila