Push Admin

8,000 AirAsia passengers affected by New Year's Day aviation mess - CEO

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="People fall in line at the check-in counters of the NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City on Jan. 2, 2023. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/01/03/20230102-naia-t3-stranded-passengers-gc-9984-(1).jpg"/><figcaption>People fall in line at the check-in counters of the NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City on Jan. 2, 2023. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — About 8,000 passengers of AirAsia Philippines were affected when dozens of flights were canceled, delayed or diverted on New Year&#x27;s Day.</p><p>According to AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla, the low-cost carrier is mounting additional flights to address the canceled flights on January 1.</p><p>&quot;On that first day alone, there were about 90 flights and a total of 8,000 passengers affected that&#x27;s why... as of yesterday, we&#x27;ve been really managing on-ground operations,&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s &quot;Headstart&quot; Tuesday.</p><p>Operations may return to normal in 3 to 4 days, Isla said.</p><p>&quot;Our flights, so far, are catching up and hopefully, [it] gets better and better,&quot; he said. &quot;Let&#x27;s give it 3 to 4 days and we should be back to normal for both our domestic and international flights.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/01/03/23/how-ph-air-traffic-system-mess-affected-global-flights">How PH air traffic system mess affected global flights on New Year</a></li></ul><p>Malacañang has vowed a thorough probe of the incident.</p><p>The Senate will also conduct an inquiry into the travel mess that disrupted hundreds of flights in and out of the country, affecting over 60,000 passengers</p><p>Sen. Grace Poe, chairman of Senate committee on public services, called the incident a national security concern and said aviation officials should be held accountable.</p><p>Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the air traffic management center, which controls inbound and outbound flights, &quot;went down&quot; due to a power outage that resulted in the loss of communication, radio, radar and internet.</p><p>&quot;The secondary problem was the power surge due to the power outage which affected the equipment,&quot; he said.</p><p>He has also not ruled out the possibility of an external attack on the air traffic control system.</p><p>Bautista and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines have admitted that the country&#x27;s air traffic management system is outdated.</p><p>Upgrading the system may cost the government up to P15 billion, the transport chief said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/02/23/caap-urges-govt-to-improve-air-traffic-system">CAAP urges gov&#x27;t to improve air traffic system; says power backup also failed</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2401968" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

About 8,000 passengers of AirAsia Philippines were affected when the Philippine airspace abruptly closed on New Year's Day.