Airlines have issued advisories on possible flight cancellations and delays ahead of the airspace shutdown on May 17.
In a GMA News report, six AirAsia flights were canceled on May 17, while the departure time of eight flights was adjusted.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines said they will maintain normal flight schedules while Cebu Pacific said that it would not have any flights.
The Airline Operators Council said that no delays or cancellations were expected among departing and arriving international flights.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said that minimal flights will be affected by the scheduled two-hour airspace shutdown on May 17.
The shutdown is for the maintenance of CAAP’s Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC). CAAP said that no flights from Manila to Cebu will be affected.
For Clark International Airport, four regional flights will be affected according to a report on GMA News.
AirAsia Philippines has earlier announced that 12 flights have been retimed on May 16 and two flights on May 17, while six domestic flights are cancelled on May 17.
“The temporary airspace closure is due to the imperative corrective maintenance activity on the ATMC, necessary to replace the defective Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), and reconfigure the Air Traffic Management System (ATMS) A/B power supply,” CAAP Deputy Director General for Operations Captain Edgardo Diaz said in a statement.
“This will ensure that the CNS/ATM system will continue to provide safe and efficient air traffic control operations,” added Diaz.
The maintenance work aims to prevent another incident that took place on New Year’s Day that affected thousands of passengers.
