NAIA radar repair affects almost 100 PAL, Cebu Pacific flights

MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of passengers would be affected by the 2-day maintenance repair of the radar system in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the country’s main gateway. 

Almost 100 flights of domestic carriers Philippine Airlines (PAL), PAL Express and Cebu Pacific have been cancelled or rescheduled due to these safety measures.

In separate statements, legacy carrier PAL said 51 of its and its unit PAL Express’ local and international flights are affected by the upgrade of the airport facility, while budget carrier Cebu Pacific said 44 flights will have to be cancelled. The Gokongwei-led airline also said it will have to adjust the time of two of its flights.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) said airlines — both local and foreign — need to reduce their operation as the NAIA radar system undergoes a 30-hour maintenance and upgrade works starting 1am of October 23 until October 24.

PAL operates local and international flights at the NAIA Terminal 2 (NAIA-2) while PAL Express and Cebu Pacific are at NAIA-3. There are 4 terminal facilities in NAIA, which has a crisscrossed runway used for landings and take-offs one flight at a time. 

Flight operations will be limited during the scheduled preventive maintenance procedure, which Caap deputy John Andrews said were previously discussed with all the airlines.

All landing and take-off procedures during this window would be via a VOR or ILS (instrument landing system) approaches and Standard Instrument Departure (SID). Air traffic controllers will limit the number of aircraft under its control to 11 arrivals and 11 departures per hour. Flights will be scheduled to use the runway 5 to 7 minutes apart.

Affected flights

In a statement, PAL said its affected flights include the following:

• Manila-Cebu
• Manila – Legazpi
• Manila – Cagayan de Oro
• Manila – Zamboanga
• Manila – Kalibo
• Manila – Tacloban
• Manila – Bacolod
• Manila – Davao
• Manila – Ozamis City
• Manila – Iloilo
• Manila – Singapore
• Manila – Naga
• Manila – Masbate
• Manila – Dumaguete

PAL said affected passengers affected by the system upgrade may ask for a refund or rebook to other flights on the same route. Both PAL and PAL Express said they would waive rebooking and fare difference charges

In a separate advisory, Cebu Pacific said the destinations affected by the flight cancellations include:

• Cagayan de Oro
• Cauayan
• Caticlan
• Cebu
• Cotabato
• Davao
• Dumaguete
• Iloilo
• Legazpi
• Naga
• Tuguegarao

The following flights on October 23 will be “slightly adjusted”:

• Manila – Iloilo
• Iloilo – Manila 

“Cebu Pacific guests on flights cancelled because of the radar system upgrade in Manila have the option to rebook with no penalties, for travel within 30 days, or get full travel fund or full refund,” the low cost carrier said. – Rappler.com