MANILA, (PNA) — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has issued a Notice to Airman (NOTAM) which will limit outgoing and incoming domestic flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals starting Wednesday up to Thursday.
In an advisory, CAAP Deputy Director General John Andrews said the Manila Radar facility (NAIA) will undergo a maintenance procedure required of every radar facility starting at 1 am of Oct. 23 until Oct. 24, for a total of 30 hours.
Andrews stressed that the Manila Radar facility has not conked out, but the procedure is needed to keep the facility in tip top shape for it to perform to the fullest.
He said that the scheduled preventive maintenance procedure was discussed with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) and all airlines operating at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Andrews said that among the restrictions cited in the NOTAM is that all landing and take-off procedures would be ILS (instrument landing system) approaches and Standard Instrument Departure (SID).
He said air traffic controllers will limit the number of aircraft under its control to 11 arrivals and 11 departures per hour.
The average number of incoming and outgoing domestic flights per hour is at 30.
“International flight schedules will not be affected for arrival and departure sequence… Domestic flights will have to delay their flights”, the CAAP said.
To allow for more airspace within the NAIA Aerodrome, CAAP said that General Aviation (GenAv) flights will not be allowed during the 30-hour procedure except for emergency requirements.
GenAv flights involve small planes used as shippers of small cargo products or used to transport private individuals.
“Departure flights will be subject to Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) release, and departure clearance. Flights will be advised of their Estimated Departure Clearance Time (EDCT), while waiting for clearance on the ground,” CAAP said.
To meet flight separation requirements, air traffic controllers said that a 5-7 minutes’ separation must be applied between flights while in the holding pattern.