New navigational device to be installed at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - A navigational device that officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have been waiting for since May arrived last night from Europe, an official said yesterday.

The instrument landing system (ILS) should have been installed last May 29 to replace one that went out of commission a year ago, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) chief Melvin Matibag said just before he was replaced.

“The ILS was late in coming because the European airspace was closed for weeks during the eruption of Iceland’s volcano, cutting off all European flights to Manila,” Matibag said.

Retired Air Force general Jose Angel Honrado took over Matibag’s post last Friday.

Sources said the ILS costs $2.4 million and will be installed in a month by Integrated Energy Systems & Resources, Inc. in cooperation with Thales ATM Project Engineers, the French manufacturer.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the ILS is a “precision approach instrument that materially aids the service to airports under all weather minimums and provides guidance to pilots of properly equipped aircraft in landing safely under conditions of reduced ceiling and lowered visibility.” The ILS has a localizer, glide slope and marker beacons to guide pilots in approaching the runway.

NAIA’s navigation problem was compounded when its very high frequency omni-directional range station or VOR conked out last month. The VOR, usually used with distance measuring equipment, enables pilots to determine their relative direction to or from the station and how far they are so they can land and take off at night or during bad weather. Without the VOR, the pilots would have to rely on sight to land and take off.