MANILA (Reuters) — The Philippines’ main gateway scrambled to resume full services on Monday after a New Year power outage jolted its air traffic control and disrupted 300 flights, prompting calls from business leaders and a top senator for urgent action.
A failure of primary and secondary power supplies caused the outage at Ninoy Aquino airport, and it should take about 72 hours for airlines to normalize their operations, said Cesar Chiong, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority.
There were 361 flights delayed, canceled or diverted to other regional airports on Sunday, affecting about 65,000 passengers, while may other flights were rerouted around Philippine airspace.
Chiong said the airport was handling a maximum of 15 flights per hour on Monday morning, down from the usual 20.
Several of the airport’s four terminals were crowded on Monday, with long queues of people trying to re-book flights while other weary passengers slept on chairs or on the floor.
“In the 24 hours that we’ve been waiting, we are now very exhausted from lack of sleep, my body is aching from all the waiting,” said Kirana Mangkabong, 32, an overseas worker.
The airport has been ranked among the world’s worst international gateways, with flight backlogs a regular occurrence and a history of upgrades being delayed or abandoned due to disputes between airport authorities and contractors.
Passengers queue at an airline counter in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, in Pasay City, Metro Manila, the Philippines, Jan. 2, 2023.
