Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 4) – The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has procured several parts to upgrade its Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) system to prevent a repeat of the New Year’s Day glitch that affected over 65,000 passengers.
At the House appropriations committee’s hearing on Monday for the Department of Transportation’s proposed ₱214.3-billion budget for 2024, CAAP Director General Manuel Tamayo said the quality of the CNS-ATM’s electrical connections was also checked last month.
He said the procurement of additional parts and new software for the CNS-ATM system is underway.
Over 300 flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport were grounded on New Year’s Day when the CNS/ATM system malfunctioned due to a power outage.
“As far as the power side is concerned of the CNS-ATM, na-resolve na namin ito [we resolved this] through upgrades. In addition, we got new batteries for the UPS [uninterruptible power supply]. We are confident that the parts that we have replaced will hold again for the next several years.” Tamayo said.
“But we will not stand by. We are also procuring standby parts that are ‘time changed.’ Minsan hindi pa sira, pero kailangan nang palitan [Sometimes it’s not even broken, but it needs to be replaced].”
Meanwhile, Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla said a meeting has been set for Sept. 14 to discuss amendments to the air passenger bill of rights.
He said the draft bill seeks to give more teeth to the guidelines on how airline passengers should be compensated in case of canceled flights or other disruptions.
