The Philippine airspace will remain closed today for 6 hours between 12am and 6am local time to carry out essential maintenance works. During the time the aging parts at the Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) will be replaced along with upgrades to increase redundancy.
The period sees lighter traffic levels, and the main impact will be at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Civil Aviation Authority of Philippines (CAAP) have advised it will cause only minimal flight disruptions; however, disruptions may affect country’s other 42 airports.
The ATMC at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), Manila is known to have several technical glitches since last few months. The entire airspace was shut down on January 1, 2023 due to the failure in one of the main electrical substations, resulting in disruptions across the airspace, and impacting all major airports in the country.
All commercial aircraft were re-routed or diverted to neighbouring countries affecting some 282 flights and 56,000 passengers.
A further closure occurred on January 22 during maintenance to replace the primary cooling fans for some of the system’s uninterruptible power supplies.