The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has apologized to airline passengers who were affected by the flights delay due to a glitch in the software of its Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) System.
In a statement, the CAAP said at least 38 domestic flights and 21 international flights were delayed while three flights were cancelled on Monday, May 21, as a result of the glitch.
"The CAAP apologizes for the delay," the CAAP said as it revealed that intervention measures are ongoing to prevent the repeat of similar incident.
"Furthermore, similar incidents in the future can be prevented once the ongoing upgrade to the CNS-ATM system is completed to enhance its self-detection capabilities for such issues," the agency added.
The glitch was monitored around noon on Monday at the Flight Data Processing System (FDPS) of ATMS, which processes flight plan information and other data to support air traffic control operations.
During the course of the assessment, personnel discovered that the FDPS was unable to send flight data to the controller workstations as expected.
This impacted traffic flow in and out of Manila.
Immediately, CAAP coordinated with Thales, its solution provider to consult on this issue and provide remote support.
"While during the incident, the communications, navigation, and surveillance equipment used in air traffic operations remained fully functional, CAAP took proactive measures and implemented contingency procedures to ensure the safety of the flying public, resulting in longer separation between departing flights maintaining a separation of approximately 10 minutes," the CAAP said.