NAIA night navigation conks out

MANILA, Philippines - The Ninoy Aquino International Airport was thrown into “crisis mode” after a crucial nighttime navigational equipment conked out yesterday morning.

According to the Civil Aeronautics Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), 60 domestic flights of Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific Airways had been cancelled.

A PAL flight from Fukuoka, Japan to Manila was diverted to the Clark International Airport in Pampanga, and a Dragonair flight from Hong Kong to Manila was cancelled.

CAAP engineer Lito Casaul, who was the duty officer at the Manila air control tower yesterday, said a very high frequency omni-directional range (VOR) station broke down at around 7:30 a.m.

Initial reports from the CAAP’s Air Navigation Service said the power supply of the VOR’s antenna tuning unit went off and they are still searching for the source of the problem.

According to the CAAP website, a VOR station provides the aircraft with bearing information from a fixed geographical point, enabling pilots to determine their relative direction to or from the station.

The VOR station is usually used in conjunction with a distance measuring equipment system, which provides distance information. Air routes are fixed by both VOR and DME signals so aircraft may travel safely at night and during bad weather, the CAAP said.

CAAP director general Alfonso Cusi said the VOR is a ground navigational equipment used by all commercial airlines flying on Instrument Flight Rules, or those not relying on the pilot’s eyesight to know where they are in the air and where to land. All major airports in the country have a VOR station beside their major runway, he said.

The CAAP issued a notice to airmen regarding the problem, which affected all airlines operating out of NAIA.

“We’re still working on it right now,” Casaul told The STAR in a phone interview yesterday afternoon.

Casaul said the VOR problem resulted in Cebu Pacific canceling its nighttime domestic and international flights.

He declined to identify foreign airlines that had also resorted to canceling their flights for fear that the VOR station would not be repaired in time for sundown.

“The cancellations will come after sundown,” he said.

In a later interview with Casaul at around 5 p.m., he said the VOR station had not yet been repaired, but that they hoped to fix it by 6:30 p.m.

“It’s really the call of the airlines if they think the problem will not be fixed,” he said.

Casaul said the VOR station is “critical at nighttime because we don’t have the primary source of visibility, which is sunlight.”

Cusi said if the problem is not solved, operations could only resume by 8 a.m. today.

He said they are coordinating with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Armand Arreza, who is willing to lend the CAAP parts from its VOR at the Subic airport until a final replacement is acquired.

Late last year, the CAAP Employees Union (CAAP-EU) called the government’s attention to the unreliability of the navigational aid and equipment in most of the country’s airports due to the alleged failure of the CAAP management to calibrate them quarterly.

The CAAP-EU cited this alleged failure in calling for the ouster of then director general Ruben Ciron, who has since been replaced by Cusi, a former general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority.