DAVAO CITY — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will shut down the operations of the Philippine Airspace for 2-hours tomorrow May 3, to pave way for the corrective maintenance activity at the Philippine Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC).
The activity means that the airline operations will be affected because the operations at the ATMC will be suspended from 02:00 AM until 04:00 AM on 3 May 2023,
All stakeholders have been informed about the schedule to ensure smooth information among passengers on the affected flights.
The entire Philippine airspace that will be shut down because of the scheduled maintenance or replacement of the UPS of the CNS/ATM .
It can be recalled that on January 1, 2023 the air traffic management center, which controls inbound and outbound flights was down due to power ouotage which resulted to fiasco.
The CAAP in a statement emphasized “The CAAP has already coordinated with and advised concerned stakeholders such as air carriers and airport operators Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corp. (LIPAD), and GMR–Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) 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.
The shut down means no power, no communcations, no radar and no surviellance among incoming and outgoing flights. For everyone’s safety a shut down is necessary.
But CAAP emphasized “If the activity is finished earlier, the issued Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) will be lifted, and operations at the ATMC will resume as normal.
The corrective maintenance activity will mainly affect flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Clark International Airport (CRK), and Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), and several flights at the other 42 CAAP commercially operated airports, CAAP statement added.
The CAAP assures 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. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding and cooperation in ensuring the safety and efficiency of our air traffic management system.-Editha Z. Caduaya
