NAIA flights suspended due to radar breakdown

Hundreds of passengers were stranded for almost three hours on Sunday after about 50 local and international fights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport were affected by a breakdown of the radar system. The incident irked many passengers, according to a report in GMA News' Weekend Report. "Hindi fair. Nagbayad kami ng right amount tapos ganun gagawin nila. Paikot-ikot kami sa loob ng airport (It's unfair. We paid the right amount and this is what we got)," said Carmencita Iwatsuki, a passenger bound for Narita in Japan.

Affected local flights were those going to and coming from Tacloban City, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Tagbiliran and Dumaguete. Flights going to and coming from Hongkong, South Korea, China, Thailand and Japan were likewise affected. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) issued the notice to airmen (NOTAM) about the incident at around 2:45 p.m. Normal operations of NAIA 1, 2 and 3 returned at about 6 p.m., according to the television report. Engineer Octavio Lina, assistant general manager for operations of NAIA 1, blamed the incident to the "wear and tear" of the equipment. "This is nothing serious," he said. - GMANews.TV