The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has ordered a full electrical audit on the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAiA) Terminal 3 after a power outage hit the airport terminal affecting more than 9,000 passengers.
Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) will implement a full electrical audit on NAIA 3 as recommended by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
Bautista acknowledged the power outage has many possible causes as the airport last had a full electrical audit in the 1990s: “We will ask the help of Meralco for us to conduct the full electrical audit.”
This could take 60 to 90 days to complete and that Terminal 1 and 2 may also undergo a similar exhaustive electrical audits as well.
According to him, the DOTr and Meralco are discussing ways to prevent the recurrence of such outages at the NAIA 3 and other terminals.
“We met with Meralco after the power was returned. We also had discussions on how to move forward,” Bautista said.
Bautista explained that a team from Meralco immediately arrived at the terminal to assess the situation.
He likewise noted the MIAA immediately turned on its generator sets and partially supplied power to the check in system, the immigration system, final security x-ray, arrival baggage carousel, elevators, escalators, air conditioning, and lights.
The MIAA and Meralco were able to restore regular power at around 8:46 A.M when NAIA operations started using regular Meralco power.
Bautista lauded Meralco for its swift response to the situation and working with airport authorities to restore power.
He also apologized to the affected passengers who had their flights cancelled or delayed due to the power outage.
Affected passengers were provided water and food through the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
Bautista also said he will ask the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) to conduct a more thorough investigation of the NAIA 3 power outage.
“If there was sabotage … we are not discounting that,” he added.
On January 1 this year, a technical glitch at the NAIA caused 282 flights to be cancelled or delayed, affecting 56,000 passengers.
In September 2022, a power outage also hit NAIA 2, causing the delay of at least 31 flights.
