The Philippines is off to a rough start, as technical difficulties in NAIA has led to stranded passengers on New Year.

The country’s NAIA airport is off to a rough start this 2023, as around 282 flights (as of 4PM) were either delayed, cancelled, or diverted to other airports in the Philippines on New Year due to technical issues. This has affected around 56,000 domestic and international passengers at the country’s major airport.

According to CAAP, technical issues involving the Philippine Air Traffic Management Center was detected as early as 9:50AM, while they have begun accepting flights at 5PM following a partial restoration of the air traffic management system.

While the exact cause is yet to be revealed, Meralco said in a statement that it was in close communication with NAIA’s management regarding the issue.

Upon initial analysis, there were no trouble or issues affecting Meralco distribution facilities and no power outage or fluctuation was likewise monitored or reported as far as Meralco’s power lines and facilities are concerned.

Such a disruption happening to NAIA, especially during New Year when air traffic is heavy, is a call for concern—senator Grace Poe has called out the DoTR about the incident, elaborating that there should be adequate contingency plans for affected passengers. “Hindi pwedeng nagkukumahog tayo kapag galit na galit na ang mga pasahero,” Poe said in a statement.

“Whatever caused the disruption in our radar services in NAIA, it demonstrates how wide-reaching the impact can be of the disruption in a single service,” Poe adds.

This is not the first time when NAIA faced technical issues. Back in September 2022, a hour-long power outage affected 30 local and international flights.