Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday said the country’s main airport officials should immediately audit all of its facilities as they resolved the power outage that hit Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on Labor Day, Monday.
Gatchalian stressed the need to look into every detail, including an electrical audit, and make the necessary upgrade in the system. That way they can avoid such internal issues.
“Authorities have identified that NAIA Terminal 3’s main circuit breaker caused the May 1 power outage at the terminal, which is an internal issue,” he said.
“Officials of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport should immediately conduct an audit of all its facilities, including an electrical audit, and make the necessary upgrade if need be.”
Gatchalian said it is unacceptable that the incident has been repeated after the entire air transport system was paralyzed at the beginning of the new year by the same power outage concern.
“We should have learned our lessons from the New Year incident and appropriate redundancy measures should have been put into place to avoid a repeat of such incident,” he lamented.
The senator said the Manila International Airport Authority, the Department of Transportation, and the airline companies should ensure that passenger rights, including the right to compensation and amenities, are observed and adhered to whenever there are delayed or canceled flights while they try to address the impact of the power outage.
“They must always attend to the needs of stranded passengers and ensure their safety and convenience until normal airport operations are restored,” he added.
Gatchalian lamented that any interruption or delay in the transport system has an adverse effect on the economy.
Thus, paying attention to all details is a must to avoid the repeat of such incidents, he added.