CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga – At least 19 passenger aircraft bound for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) diverted anew to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here yesterday amid reported “congestion” in the Manila airport.
Larry Pena, chief of the operations control center at the DMIA, told Punto that the aircraft landed here one after the other starting at about 12:14 p.m. Thirteen aircraft on international and domestic flights, had landed by 1 p.m. amid notice that five more were on their way.
“This is the fifth time since last June that aircraft bound for NAIA is diverted to Clark,” he said.
Pena said pilots cited “congestion” in NAIA as reason for diverting to Clark, but he added that “visibility problems” might have again occurred at the Manila airport.
Only last July 3, a total of 31 international and domestic aircraft also landed here amid visibility problems at the NAIA. Some passengers were reported to have disembarked from their aircraft and proceeded to Manila by bus from here, instead of waiting for hours before their aircraft could again fly towards NAIA.
“Such cases are in the disposition of the airlines, but we do have regular buses at the DMIA to ferry passengers to Manila,” Pena said.
He also said the DMIA, which was recently expanded at the cost of some P300-million, has enough space to accommodate passengers who would be allowed by their airlines to get out of their aircraft and stretch their legs at the passengers’ holding area at the terminal here while waiting for flight clearance for their aircraft.
Pena said, however, that his office has requested airlines to inform the DMIA management two hours in advance for any food service for their stranded passengers.
“Our caterer, Miascor, needs time to prepare food for a significant number of passengers even in such emergency cases, so we’d like airlines to assess how long their aircraft would probably be stranded and make catering reservations as early as possible,” he added.
Last July 3, aviation authorities blamed pollution for poor visibility at the NAIA. A total of 10 international flights were then cancelled, 12 were diverted and 18 were delayed due to poor visibility at the NAIA. At least 26 domestic flights were also cancelled, 37 were diverted and 26 were delayed.
Joselito Casaul, senior technical assistant at the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), had explained that poor visibility was due to a “sink haze” brought about by pollution and that this was worsened by humidity or the absence of wind that could have helped dissipate the haze.
Casaul also then said that flights that were diverted were those whose pilots or aircrafts have not yet been certified for the airport’s new navigation equipment, the runway navigation- global positioning system.
Last month, NAIA’s very high omnidirectional radio range (VOR) and instrumental landing system (ILS) were damaged, although airport authorities said the diversion of flights that happened later were not necessarily due to these technical problems.
Pena said that DMIA’s VOR and ILS are functioning well and that DMIA’s radar is even more modern than that being used at the NAIA.
Way back in 1994, former Pres. Ramos issued an executive order declaring the DMIA as the country’s future international gateway, a declaration reiterated in 2004 by former Pres. Arroyo.
Larry Pena, chief of the operations control center at the DMIA, told Punto that the aircraft landed here one after the other starting at about 12:14 p.m. Thirteen aircraft on international and domestic flights, had landed by 1 p.m. amid notice that five more were on their way.
“This is the fifth time since last June that aircraft bound for NAIA is diverted to Clark,” he said.
Pena said pilots cited “congestion” in NAIA as reason for diverting to Clark, but he added that “visibility problems” might have again occurred at the Manila airport.
Only last July 3, a total of 31 international and domestic aircraft also landed here amid visibility problems at the NAIA. Some passengers were reported to have disembarked from their aircraft and proceeded to Manila by bus from here, instead of waiting for hours before their aircraft could again fly towards NAIA.
“Such cases are in the disposition of the airlines, but we do have regular buses at the DMIA to ferry passengers to Manila,” Pena said.
He also said the DMIA, which was recently expanded at the cost of some P300-million, has enough space to accommodate passengers who would be allowed by their airlines to get out of their aircraft and stretch their legs at the passengers’ holding area at the terminal here while waiting for flight clearance for their aircraft.
Pena said, however, that his office has requested airlines to inform the DMIA management two hours in advance for any food service for their stranded passengers.
“Our caterer, Miascor, needs time to prepare food for a significant number of passengers even in such emergency cases, so we’d like airlines to assess how long their aircraft would probably be stranded and make catering reservations as early as possible,” he added.
Last July 3, aviation authorities blamed pollution for poor visibility at the NAIA. A total of 10 international flights were then cancelled, 12 were diverted and 18 were delayed due to poor visibility at the NAIA. At least 26 domestic flights were also cancelled, 37 were diverted and 26 were delayed.
Joselito Casaul, senior technical assistant at the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), had explained that poor visibility was due to a “sink haze” brought about by pollution and that this was worsened by humidity or the absence of wind that could have helped dissipate the haze.
Casaul also then said that flights that were diverted were those whose pilots or aircrafts have not yet been certified for the airport’s new navigation equipment, the runway navigation- global positioning system.
Last month, NAIA’s very high omnidirectional radio range (VOR) and instrumental landing system (ILS) were damaged, although airport authorities said the diversion of flights that happened later were not necessarily due to these technical problems.
Pena said that DMIA’s VOR and ILS are functioning well and that DMIA’s radar is even more modern than that being used at the NAIA.
Way back in 1994, former Pres. Ramos issued an executive order declaring the DMIA as the country’s future international gateway, a declaration reiterated in 2004 by former Pres. Arroyo.
