The Philippine airspace will shut down for six hours on May 17 to give way for the replacement of the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) at the Air Traffic Management System (ATMS).
In a joint press briefing on Tuesday, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) assistant general manager Bryan Co announced that the maintenance will start from 12 midnight until 6 am on May 17.
"For May 17, mas malaki 'yung impact kasi it would be for several hours, wala talang activity sa ating airspace. But that was coordinated already last week because we know, airlines need to recalibrate their schedules, some of their flights will be rescheduled or retimed," he said.
Co noted that there is a possibility that the planned six hours of maintenance could be shortened.
The maintenance activity will be conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
He said they would meet all 43 airlines of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to prepare for the recovery flights.
It can be recalled that on New Year's Day, the ATMS had a system glitch that disrupted several flights and affected hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Apart from May 17, CAAP will conduct two-hour maintenance tomorrow, May 3, from 2 am to 4 am.
