Radar breakdown at NAIA, bad weather affect flights

Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Wikipedia photo

MANILA, Philippines – Ninoy Aquino International Airport ‘s (NAIA) Manila Radar broke down early Friday morning. As such, flights to and from Manila were affected, due to limited communication between the radio tower and pilots.

The breakdown prompted the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to close the NAIA runways to aircraft other than area navigation or RNAV-capable aircraft such as Airbus 319 or Boeing 737. The board likewise issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) spanning 3:57 a.m. until 12 noon as a result of the radar malfunction.

A technical crew was deployed to fix the radar, the CAAP said.

On top of the already limited number of flights resulting from the radar breakdown, many other flights were either cancelled or rerouted because of poor weather conditions and heavy rains brought by tropical storm “Mario.”