Flights diverted to Clark after NAIA equipment break down

MANILA, Philippines—Several commercial flights were diverted from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to the nearby Clark International Airport on Tuesday after its key navigational equipment malfunctioned. The flights were diverted as a result of the simultaneous outages of the Naia’s very high frequency omni-directional radio range (VOR) navigational system and instrument landing system (ILS).

As of 12 noon, seven domestic and two regional international flights were diverted to the former United States military base in Pampanga.

The Manila International Airport Authority, which operates Naia, said operations were “almost normal” at the middle of the day.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines said two of its flights were affected by the equipment outages.

PAL’s PR 142 from Iloilo and PR 467 from Incheon, South Korea, were both diverted to Clark. The planes were able to return to Manila at 1:29 p.m. and 1:17 p.m., respectively.

Cebu Pacific, the country’s largest budget airline, likewise confirmed that several flights were affected, but declined to give details.

Naia’s navigation equipment has had a history of malfunctioning, often resulting in flight delays and diversions that affect thousands of passengers.

The VOR transmits signals to the pilot, helping the aircraft navigate and land safely, especially at night or when visibility is poor.

In June of 2010, Naia’s VOR equipment also malfunctioned, forcing the cancellation of several international and domestic flights, particularly evening flights. Naia’s management was compelled at the time to borrow equipment from Subic International Airport until the defective parts of the VOR were replaced.

The government aims to replace the VOR and other old equipment at Naia with a new Communications, Navigation, Surveillance and Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) system that will use satellite information, not land-based radars, to guide planes to their destinations.

NAIA navigation system OK; 13 flights diverted to Clark back to Manila

MANILA, Philippines— The thirteen (13) flights that were diverted to Clark International Airport late Tuesday morning are now headed back to Manila after the technical glitch at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport that prevented them from landing was fixed late Tuesday afternoon, said a report from Radyo Inquirer 990 A.M.

Naia’s Doppler Very High Frequency Omni Range (DVOR) system had stopped working at around 11 a.m. Tuesday but was fixed a couple of hours past noon, radio reports said.

The DVOR is a short range radio navigation system used by pilots to locate the Naia runaway.

Radyo Inquirer 990 AM said in a follow-up report Tuesday afternoon that among the diverted trips were four international flights from Asiana Airlines, Thai Airways, China Southern Airlines and Philippine Airlines.

Domestic flights were those of the Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirPhil Express.

As of this posting, full operations at the Naia have resumed.

SourceL MRST,