MANILA (4th UPDATE) — At least 48 flights were canceled after Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 experienced a power outage at 1:05 a.m. Monday morning, according to the Manila International Airport Authority.

These are all local flights from NAIA 3 to Tuguegarao, Daraga, Cagayan, Cauayan, Dipolog, Puerto Princesa, Caticlan, Cebu, Panglao, Bacolod, Davao, Butuan, Zamboanga, General Santos City, Ozamiz, Caticlan, Iloilo, Tacloban, Cotabato, Pagadian, Dumaguete, Cebu, and Davao, as well as flights back to Manila from these areas.

The MIAA Management apologized to the more than 9,000 affected passengers for the inconvenience.

According to the Department of Transportation, MIAA immediately turned on its generator sets following the power interruption, to partially supply power to NAIA 3’s mission-critical areas, which include check-in and immigration systems, final security x-rays, baggage carousels, elevators and escalators, as well as lights and air conditioning.

The DOTr and MIAA, however, admitted that the current capacity of NAIA T3’s generator sets is not enough to cover the full electricity requirements of the terminal.

"The gen set load that we have in NAIA 3 is limited to critical mission systems for terminal 3. Sa NAIA 1 and 2, 100% ang capacity ng gen sets. Sa NAIA 3, doon 30% ang gen sets,” MIAA General Manager Cesar Chiong said in a press conference.

Meralco responded 15 minutes after the power interruption was reported Monday morning. Around 7 a.m., partial restoration of regular power at NAIA 3 began and was completed at 8:46 a.m., more than 7 hours since the outage started.

Meralco said that based on initial investigation, a fault current on NAIA 3’s load side was detected, which triggered the circuit breaker to interrupt the terminal’s power supply, preventing possible damage to the system.

"'Yung fault current ay isang malaking amount of current na magpapa-activate ng fault indicator na katabi ng circuit breaker. Ang fault current ay maraming pwede pagmulan. ‘Yan po ay mga abnormality sa electrical system. Parang sa bahay natin, kung may circuit breaker sa bahay, kung minsan nagkakaroon ng short circuit, mag-oopen yun,” Meralco Manila Sector Manager Engr. Noel Espiritu explained.

The airport encountered another power interruption around 4 p.m. on Monday, which lasted around 20 to 30 minutes.

• NAIA, Cebu flights put 'on hold' due to technical issues in New Year's Day crisis

CEBU PACIFIC ADVISORY
POWER OUTAGE AT NAIA TERMINAL 3
MAY 1, 2023, 4:30 AM pic.twitter.com/U2CltWb6Zl

— Cebu Pacific Air (@CebuPacificAir) April 30, 2023

Cebu Pacific, meanwhile, confirmed the power outage, saying passengers departing to and from NAIA T3 who do not want to proceed with their flights may get free rebooking or travel funds up to two hours before their scheduled time of departure.

Cebu Pacific advises its passengers that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA T3) is currently experiencing a power outage which is affecting operations.

Please expect delays and cancellations on some of our flights as we manage the situation.

— Cebu Pacific Air (@CebuPacificAir) April 30, 2023

1. Free Rebooking
Rebook without fare difference for travel up to thirty (30) days from original flight date. The fare difference will apply if the travel period is beyond thirty (30) days from the original flight date.

— Cebu Pacific Air (@CebuPacificAir) April 30, 2023

2. Travel Fund
Store the amount in a virtual CEB wallet valid for six (6) months and use this to either book a new flight or pay for add-ons (example: baggage allowance, seat selection, etc.)

— Cebu Pacific Air (@CebuPacificAir) April 30, 2023

They may avail themselves of their preferred option online up to two (2) hours before their scheduled time of departure.

We appeal for your patience and understanding. CEB will provide an update as soon as more information becomes available.

— Cebu Pacific Air (@CebuPacificAir) April 30, 2023

MIAA operations personnel are now continuously doing the rounds of Terminal 3 to provide assistance to passengers and answer inquiries. Further advisories will be issued in the subsequent hours.

The MIAA voice and text hotlines may be reached thru the following numbers:

Voice Hotline: 88771111
Text Hotline: 88396242

NAIA flight information numbers:

Terminal 1 (8771109 loc 765 and 2852)
Terminal 2 (8771109 loc 2882 and 2880)
Terminal 4 (8771109 loc 4226)
Terminal 3 (8777888 loc 8144 and 8146)

The Department of Transportation said investigation continues to determine the root cause of the power interruption.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista asserts this incident is different from the air traffic management system technical glitch that paralyzed NAIA operations last January 1st.

The DOTr chief said he tapped the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency to investigate the latest power outage at NAIA 3.

"Mayroon bang sabotage? Hindi natin dinidiscount din ‘yan. Meralco will also help us assess kung talagang mayroong sabotage or not. Kailangan pag-aralan natin mabuti lahat yan,” Bautista said.

“Dito sa particular case na ito, wala kaming nakikita na sinadya na aspeto… Ang sabi nila, relatively aging ‘yung facilities doon,” Espiritu for his part said.

“Kung minsan pag aging na ang ating mga alambre, or yung wiring… malulutong na ‘yan, yung insulation niya kung minsan nawawala, sa magko-cause yan ng short circuit,” he added.

To augment contingency measures, MIAA is eyeing to buy or rent additional generator sets for NAIA 3.

The DOTr, meanwhile, said a full electrical audit of NAIA 3 will be conducted to replace old and worn-out equipment and systems.

MIAA will also keep NAIA’s runway open Monday night so airlines can mount recovery flights.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros slammed the recent issue of Manila's international airport, saying the government agencies' vow to avoid the paralysis experienced by NAIA last New Year's Day has been broken, unsurprisingly.

"Coincidence lang ba na napupurnada ang lakad ng mga kababayan natin kapag mga araw ng bakasyon? May kaugnayan ba rito ang pinaplanong privatization ng NAIA? O talagang dinededma tayo ng mga pabayang namamahala sa NAIA kaya wala nang tamang pagpaplano para sa mga airport?" she said in a statement.

"Ano pa man ang dahilan, malinaw na hindi uubra ang economic recovery na hinahangad natin matapos ang pandemya kung magpapatuloy ang ganitong mga kapalpakan!"

Hontiveros said she hopes the recent canceled flights did not affect Filipino migrant workers "especially in destination countries where employers cancel contracts based on strict re-entry rules."

"In case this happens, it should be the duty of the government to negotiate on their behalf to ensure that their jobs are protected," she said.

The outage also affected operations in some airports elsewhere in the Philippines.

Domestic terminals at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), the country's second busiest, were reportedly full as scores of passengers were stranded.

GMR Cebu Airport Authority spokesperson Edilyth Maribojoc said there are affected flights in Cebu due to the power outage.

Two Cebu Pacific flights between Cebu and Manila were canceled, while several other flights from AirAsia and Cebu Pacific were also delayed.

Airport authorities have set up a website for passengers to check the status of their flights. Stranded passengers in the airport were also given food.

As of writing, the MCIA is still consolidating the total number of affected passengers.

—With a report from Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News; and Annie Perez

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