MANILA, Philippines – Technicians have successfully installed a navigational equipment at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to replace a defective “very high frequency omni-directional radio range” (VOR) which caused flight delays and cancellation of flights on Saturday.
Lito Casaul of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), NAIA’s technical assistant, said the VOR navigational equipment from Subic was installed at runway 06-24.
Technicians had to configure the VOR on Runway 06-24 with the radio frequency of airplanes arriving at the NAIA.
Two flights of Philippine Airlines (PAL) arriving on Sunday will be used as test flights to see if the technical configuration of the VOR from Subic is correct.
The CAAP said that after these test flights, they will already be able to use the VOR for all flights arriving at the NAIA.
The VOR equipment guides pilots during take off and landing and is considered crucial to aircraft and passenger safety.
The defective VOR navigational equipment caused heavy domestic and international flight cancellations and delays. (Read: Many NAIA flights canceled as navigational aid breaks down)
Some airlines had to divert planes to Cebu and Clark, Pampanga while waiting for the repair of the VOR.
Airport operations at NAIA 1 and NAIA 2 have returned to normal, while heavy passenger traffic is expected at NAIA 3 due to Cebu Pacific's cancellation of about 28 flights on Saturday.
Stranded passengers complain
Some passengers of Cebu Pacific criticized the airline for the lack of advise on the status of their flights.
They alleged that there was no prior announcement on the flight delays and cancellations.
Cebu Pacific, however, issued an advisory Saturday afternoon about the cancellations.
The affected passengers added that they had to bear with an uncomfortable wait sans amenities or complimentary food or water to make up for such inconvenience.
A returning overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from Hong Kong even asked for a refund to be able to get another trip home to Kalibo, Aklan to attend an uncle's funeral. But her refund request was not accepted.
“‘Di niyo kasi sinasabi ng tama eh, pumunta dito, ‘wag niyo kaming lokohin, niloloko niyo kami ah,” said another disgruntled passenger.
Stranded passengers at the NAIA were left to stay on the floors of NAIA Terminal 3. – With a report from ANC
