A local think-tank on Tuesday urged the high-ranking officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to step down from their posts following the air traffic fiasco in NAIA on New Year's Day.
On January 1, thousands of travelers were affected by the mishap that caused the cancellation of at least 361 flights, about 40 percent of the total flights in NAIA.
In an interview, Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon called the explanation of CAAP "unacceptable" as the mess brought "international embarrassment" to the country.
"Dahil ito ay isang international embarrassment, hindi lang ito national humiliation, talagang very important 'yung panawagan na dapat mag-offer to resign 'yung high-level CAAP officials na accountable sa publiko," Ridon said.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista apologized for the inconvenience to passengers as he blamed a power outage for the breakdown of the central air traffic control system that also affected operations at other airports in the country.
He said the outdated existing facility should be upgraded immediately and that a backup system was also needed.
However, for Ridon, the lack of budget should not be an excuse for CAAP. \
"CAAP has billions of pesos in regular, programmed funding for air traffic management system upgrades. The need for upgrades does not explain yesterday’s operational failure, because inasmuch as it is a technical problem, it is also a failure in leadership to determine whether existing upgrade protocols are sufficient to avoid yesterday’s incident," Ridon said in a separate statement.
In an interview with DZRH, former Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) deputy director general Daniel Dimagiba deflected blame from the Manila Electric Corporation (MERALCO) for the air traffic mess.
