‘Little delay’ observed in NAIA flight operations

By Martin Sadongdong

Flight operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) had a “little delay” as the nine regional leaders who attended the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, together with their spouses, started going back to their countries Saturday night until Sunday, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said.

CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said situation at the country’s premier airport remained normal even if there was a five- to 10- minute delay in the normal operations of flight at NAIA due to “longer separation of flights.”

(ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

“Well, normalized naman lahat ng operations based sa latest monitoring natin. ‘Yun nga lang nagkaroon ng five to ten minutes na delay sa ibang flights dahil in-implement natin ‘yung mas mahabang separation time between arriving and departing aircraft,” Apolonio told Manila Bulletin.

Apolonio said the delay had minimal impact on the other flights, as he asked for public understanding since the “little inconvenience” remained a part of the country’s hosting of the ASEAN.

“Konting inconvenience lang naman ang naranasan ng mga kababayan natin na bumiyahe, sakripisyo na lang natin ito for national pride naman. Lalo pa’t karangalan ng ating bansa ang nakataya, successful naman ang hosting natin” he stated.

Apolonio also said there was no need for quasi-emergency situation at NAIA, which is usually implemented concerning national events, as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Ang utos ng Pangulo, huwag na mag-implement ng quasi-emergency dahil masyadong maaabala ang mga kababayan natin at gusto niya pantay-pantay lang lahat,” the CAAP spokesperson said.

Tags: ASEAN, ASEAN leaders, CAAP, delay, Flight operations, flights, Manila Bulletin, NAIA, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, ‘Little delay’ observed in NAIA flight operations