MANILA — The lightning alert issued by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) on Friday afternoon delayed 20 international and domestic flights.
A red lightning alert was issued at 4:49 p.m., and was lowered to yellow alert at 5:29 p.m. Authorities lifted the lightning alert at 5:37 p.m.
No flight was diverted, according to MIAA.
A lightning alert is a safety measure to prevent any untoward incident from happening when lightning is prevalent in the immediate area and may endanger passengers, personnel, and flight operations.
During a red lightning alert, the ramp movement for both aircraft and ramp personnel is temporarily suspended.
Meanwhile, in its social media account, Cebu Pacific announced that its flights might be further delayed as a result of the lightning alert.
Pagasa also raised the red lightning alert around 12:41 p.m. on July 7, 2019, but was immediately lifted and lowered to yellow lightning alert less than 15 minutes later.
Last month, a total of 26 domestic and international flights were also delated due to a red lightning advisory.
Sprites or red lightning, are electrical discharges that appear as bursts of red light above clouds during thunderstorms. (with reports from PNA)