Probe result on Jan. 1 airport fiasco out by Feb. 15: DOTr

FILE: Passengers at NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City queue at the check-in counter as it resumes its operation after Air Traffic Management Center of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines experienced a technical issue on Sunday (Jan. 1, 2023). (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

MANILA – The result of the investigation on the Communication, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) issue that caused massive air traffic delays during the holidays are expected to be submitted to the Senate Committee on Public Services on Feb. 15.

In a statement on Monday, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista said the deadline was issued to the investigative team organized by the DOTr, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Cyber Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA).

“We have given ourselves a deadline of February 15 to come up with the final findings. So let’s wait for February 15,” Bautista said.

He noted that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) had inhibited the investigating body.

Following an inspection of the CNS/ATM system, Senator Grace Poe, committee chair, said the senators were “satisfied” and are eyeing to upgrade the system’s AVR.

“Based on our visit today, we were able to realize that it’s really the AVR that hasn’t been replaced since August 2020,” Poe said.

She was joined in the inspection by Senate President Miguel Zubiri, Senators JV Ejercito, Joel Villanueva and Raffy Tulfo.

In January, the CAAP revealed its plan to acquire a backup system for its CNS/ATM to prevent another incident similar to the New Year’s Day air traffic glitch that resulted in cancellations and delayed flights affecting thousands of passengers.

CAAP Director General Manuel Antonio Tamayo said uninterruptible power supply units for the CNS/ATM have already been purchased as part of the measures that would prevent future glitches.