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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Solon: CAAP could've avoided New Year disaster with ISO certification

Solon: CAAP could've avoided New Year disaster with ISO certification

Published Jan 10, 2023 06:10 pm

The mass flight cancellations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last Jan. 1 could have been avoided had the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) been ISO-certified.

From left to right: DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, DOTr Undersecretary Roberto Lim, CAAP Director General Manuel Antonio Tamayo (Photo from DOTr)

Such was main point of Bulacan 6th district Rep. Salvador Pleyto's interpellation Tuesday, Jan. 10, of aviation officials during a House briefing about the New Year's day NAIA crisis.

During the briefing of the Committee on Transportation, Pleyto asked the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to improve their risk management in accordance with International Organization of Standardization (ISO) standards to avert the occurrence of a technical glitch similar to the Jan. 1 incident, which led to the cancellation of over 400 flights.

“If CAAP is an ISO-certified agency, it is mandatory to have a risk management plan, which would address the risk of the occurrence of power outage by applying immediately the agency’s action or contingency plan,” said rookie congressman Pleyto.

At the heart of the recent airport glitch was NAIA's Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Systems for Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM), which the CAAP maintains.

CAAP Director General Manuel Antonio Tamayo admitted before congressmen Tuesday that the agency wasn't ISO-certified.

He said during his presentation to the panel that a "tripped" circuit breaker within the CNS/ATM caused a power outage at NAIA. This led to the mass flight cancellations on Jan. 1, a Sunday.

Pleyto, a member of transportation panel, said that if the risk of having a power outage is included in the risk management plan, the design-life of the circuit breaker or the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) should have been noticed, and that the procurement of such devices should have been put in place as back-up.

“That would not have prolonged the agony of the passengers who suffered flight delays and inconveniences,” underscored the former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Tamayo tried to justify before the solons Tuesday CAAP's emergency procurement of a brand new UPS, which, to put it simple, is the "battery" of the all-important CNS/ATM.

Pleyto also asked if there were CAAP personnel who resigned or were caused to retire after the disastrous technical glitch.

The CAAP chief answered in the affirmative, and bared that some personnel who were already more than 75 years old had been deemed retired.

Meanwhile, the Bulacan solon advised Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Cesar Chiong to maintain the category rank of NAIA, as well as to closely coordinate with other agencies to avert any problem that may arise in improving their services to airline passengers.

The MIAA is the operator of NAIA.

Related Tags

iso salvador pleyto house Certification UPS manuel Antonio tamayo circuit breaker risk management plan commitee on Transportation NAIA CAAP ISO-certified 11023
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