Flights Delayed In The Philippines As Philippine Airspace Closes For Radar System Maintenance

Flights delayed in the Philippines

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Commercial flights in the country were delayed for a couple of hours today, 3rd May 2023. From 2am to 4am, the Philippine airspace was shut down, making flights going in and out of airports in the country impossible.

This was due to the scheduled replacement of the equipment that caused the power outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on 1st January 2023 and greeted passengers with large-scale flight delays.

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NAIA, Clark, and Cebu airports affected

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Image credit: Nicolas Joaquin Rojas via Google Maps

NAIA, Clark International Airport, and Mactan Cebu International Airport were all affected by the airspace closure. Operations at 42 other commercial airports in the Philippines were impacted as well.

To accommodate the maintenance, airlines have issued flight schedule adjustments. For Philippine Airlines, there’s a flight delay of 3 hours and 40 mins for their Manila to Seoul (Incheon) flight.

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Another airspace closure on 17th May

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Image credit: Silver Ringvee via Unsplash

There’s another airspace closure scheduled on 17th May. This will be for 6 hours – from 12am to 6am.

If you have a flight scheduled then, you can contact your airline regarding their plans so you can make adjustments as needed.

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Flights delayed as airspace closed for maintenance

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The Philippine airspace shutdown may be an inconvenience, but it’s necessary to avoid unexpected and massive delays on flights in the future. Here’s to hoping our flights will go smoothly after these maintenance schedules.

To prepare for your future trips, check out this list of travel bags and luggage in the Philippines. You can also be a pro at traversing Metro Manila with these handy ride-hailing apps.

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Cover image adapted from: 吉易 via Google Maps