FOR MAINTENANCE WORKS: CAAP to shut down airspace on May 17

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The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is set to shut down the country’s airspace for six hours on May 17 to conduct maintenance works at the Philippine Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC).

CAAP expects this to have a minimal impact on airline operations.

After the power outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on May 1, CAAP yesterday announced  the operations at the ATMC will be suspended from 2 to 4 a.m. on May 3, and midnight until 6 a.m. on May 17 due to corrective maintenance activity for the ATMC system.

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Eric Apolonio, CAAP spokesperson, said the scheduled maintenance on May 3 will have minimal impact on airline operations as it was set during the runway maintenance of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).

CAAP also advised airlines to adjust their flight schedules to avoid flight cancellations on May 17.

“However, if the activity is finished earlier, the issued Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) will be lifted, and operations at the ATMC will resume as normal,” CAAP said.

On January 1, the Philippines’ airspace traffic control system was shut down for six hours due to a power failure that resulted in 361 flight cancellations and over 60,000 affected passengers during the first two days of the year.

Apolonio said there will be no major flight cancellations as airlines have been advised to adjust their flight schedules.

The corrective maintenance activity will mainly affect flights at the NAIA, Clark International Airport and Mactan-Cebu International Airport, as well as several flights at the other 42 CAAP commercially operated airports.

The CAAP said it has coordinated with and advised concerned stakeholders such as air carriers and airport operators, MIAA, Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corp. and GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. in advance regarding the intended corrective maintenance activity.

Mitigating measures and flight schedule adjustments have been discussed with stakeholders to ensure the smooth conduct of the imperative maintenance activity, it added.

The corrective maintenance activity is necessary to repair the automatic voltage regulator (AVR), replace the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and upgrade the ATMS A/B power supply.

The ATMS power supply upgrade will involve the installation of a bypass panel to provide seamless ATMS operation and the reconfiguration of the existing distribution panel to segregate ATM system A (voice) and ATM system B (data), resulting in the UPS and AVR serving as each other’s backup in case the other power supply encounters a problem.

An AVR functions as a protection against surges as it regulates the voltage delivered to devices and a UPS ensures the equipment has uninterruptible power supply.

CAAP assured the public that once the maintenance activity is completed, operations at the ATMC will resume as normal and will allow CAAP-ATMC to serve the flying public better and ensure continued flight safety.

Meanwhile, MIAA is set to have a meeting with various airport and airline operators to discuss the flight adjustment on the radar system maintenance work.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) yesterday announced adjustments on May 2 and 3 flight schedules due to the radar system maintenance work.

Three international flights on May 2 will be adjusted while 12 international and seven domestic flights will be delayed on May 3, to give way to the government’s scheduled maintenance work on the Philippine radar system.

“We seek your kind understanding as PAL works with the authorities to minimize the impact on our customers. The government is undertaking this preventive maintenance work as part of a permanent upgrading and improvement of the country’s air navigational radar systems,” PAL said.

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