35 flights diverted to other airports due to haze at NAIA

(Update 2 p.m.) At least 35 domestic and international flights that were supposed to land at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Saturday were diverted to Pampanga, Cebu, and Iloilo due to poor visibility. Lito Casaul, technical assistant of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), said the "almost zero visibility" at the NAIA was blamed to the thick haze that came too close to the ground, causing pilots to miss the runway. Casaul said haze – normally a result of air pollution – is normal at this time of the year, but it was thicker than the usual Saturday morning, causing visibility to drop to one kilometer. According to him, airplanes are allowed to land on the airport only with a three or four-kilometer visibility. "Nagpapasama po ito ng nakikita ng vision ng piloto sa runway. Iyan ay pollution na dumidikit sa ground. Sa ganitong panahon na tag-ulan, nagyayari talaga iyan normally expected na namin iyon. Kaso this morning thick haze ang nandito," he told radio dzBB. As a result of the poor visibility, at least 22 flights – four international and 18 domestic – were initially diverted to the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Field Pampanga. Some of the flights came from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Guam. Two Philippine Airlines flights, meanwhile, were diverted to land in the central Philippine province of Cebu. A PAL flight was also diverted to Iloilo province. Casaul assured the public that despite the diversion, no flight would be canceled, adding that airport authorities will just have to wait for the skies to clear up. Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing of the Cebu Pacific Airlines, said four of the diverted flights were their fleet – two of them came from Caticlan, one from Catarman, and one from Naga. Iyog said their four affected flights were only small aircraft (ATR72), adding that their bigger Airbus planes were still able to land at the NAIA because of their capability to land under low visibility. "Itong [equipment sa bigger planes] ang nagagamit namin kaya nakakapagpalapag kami ngayon sa Manila," Iyog said. She said their planes that were diverted to Pampanga are still "waiting na mag-imporve ang visibility sa Manila para maibalik na sila sa Manila." Apart from the four Cebu Pacific flights, among the other diverted flights were:

11 flights of Philippine Airlines 1 flight of Royal Brunei Airlines 2 flights of the Air Philippines 4 flights of Zest Airlines 1 flight of KNL Airlines 1 flight of Sea Air 2 flights of China Air 1 flight of Air Micronesia

Back to normal As of 1 p.m., the skies have already cleared at the NAIA, according to Jonathan Gesmundo, PAL corporate communications head. He said they are already working out a plan to send their diverted flights back to Manila one at a time. "Nagko-coordinate kami para malaman kung sino ang mauuna magla-land kasi hindi naman puwede sabay-sabay," he said. Just the same, he said PAL would also be employing its global positioning system (GPS) device to overcome the effects of the haze. He said they have likewise directed their cabin crew in the affected flights to attend to passengers who have already begun complaining about being hungry due to the delay. "They will be able to give iyong mga natitirang provision sa loob ng eroplano," he assured the public. Gesmundo discouraged passengers from disembarking while waiting for the situation to return to normal. "Kanina pinapaliwanag ko na huwag pabababain ang mga pasahero kasi baka magkasasama-sama sila. Kasi may flights pa kami na galing sa Guam. Mahirap naman kung mag-halo," he said. Connected to VOR? Casaul clarified that the flight diversions had nothing to do with the June 19 incident at the airport when its Very High Frequency Omni-Directional Radio Range (VOR) conked out and led to the cancellation of 50 flights. A VOR is a navigational equipment that directs aircraft to the runway especially when there is poor visibility. Despite doing a "temporary fix" to the device by borrowing a VOR from Clark, airport officials said they still plan to acquire a replacement system for the NAIA. A VOR has a lifespan of 15 years, and the present system in place at the NAIA was due for replacement after having been in service for more than 14 years. For flight inquiries, the Manila International Airport Authority can be reached through the following numbers: 854-0015 and 877-1109. — Mark D. Merueñas / LBG, GMANews.TV