The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has inspected the Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) of its attached agency, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), to ensure that all systems are running well ahead of the expected high volume of travelers for All Saint’s Day and All Souls Day.
Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez led the inspection on Tuesday, emphasizing that he does not want a repeat of the January 1, 2023 airspace shutdown that inconvenienced air passengers at a peak travel period.
In a statement, Lopez said he would like systems to be in tip-top shape even until the Yuletide Holiday season.
“We checked the redundancy, among others. Siguraduhin lang natin na hindi na mauulit ang nangyari dati para wala nang mga pasahero na maaabala lalo na mula Undas hanggang sa Pasko at Bagong Taon,” he shared.
(We checked the redundancy, among others. Let’s make sure that this (2023 airspace shutdown) doesn’t happen again so that passengers would be spared from the hassle, especially during the upcoming Undas until Christmas and New Year.)
The ATMC serves as the central facility for controlling and overseeing all inbound and outbound flights and overflights within the Philippine airspace.
To recall, the ATMC went down on New Year’s Day 2023 due to a power outage, causing loss of communication, radio, radar, and internet connectivity.
Multiple flights were disrupted while thousands of travelers were affected in airports across the country, including Metro Manila’s gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Also in its statement, the DOTr said the CAAP has initiated measures to ensure systems redundancy and upgrade in the existing Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM).
For continuous electrical power, the CAAP has also brought new uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units for its CNS/ATM. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
