Arroyo orders probe of NAIA radar glitch

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday ordered airport officials to look into the radar glitch that forced the diversion of many flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Sunday. Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez Jr. said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has been instructed to submit its report at the soonest possible time. "We will base our next steps from their report. We will determine who is at fault because what happened goes against the principle of giving safety to our passengers," he said.
Airport officials said the power supply of their radar at the control tower broke down at 2 p.m. Sunday, forcing the diversion of several incoming international and local flights to other airports. "The tower cannot communicate with the radar and they cannot guide the airlines to land and depart so it is a safety issue," said Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Alfonso Cusi. Cusi noted that some international flights were diverted to Hong Kong while other incoming flights were ordered to land in other airports. Hundreds of passengers were stranded for hours on Sunday after about 50 local and international fights at the NAIA were affected by the radar-system breakdown. Affected local flights were those going to and coming from Tacloban City, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Tagbiliran and Dumaguete. Flights going to and coming from Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Thailand and Japan were likewise affected. - GMANews.TV