• Human error caused a 37-minute power outage today (June 9) at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3
• Seven flights—five domestic and two international—were delayed but no flights cancelled due to the power interruption that lasted from 12:52 p.m. to 1:29 p.m.
• MIAA officer-in-charge Bryan Co said the power outage was caused by a test cable inadvertently left by personnel of Meralco Energy in a NAIA substation during a scheduled electrical audit
• MIAA will procure additional emergency gensets that will raise the capacity to provide power requirements of the terminal to 80-90% from the current 30%
Human error caused a 37-minute power outage today (June 9) at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
Seven flights—five domestic and two international—were delayed but no flights were cancelled due to the incident, MIAA officer-in-charge Bryan Co said in a press conference on June 9.
The interruption lasted from 12:52 p.m. to 1:29 p.m. Some systems, such as air-conditioning and x-rays units and those in immigration, however, took time to fully function even after power was restored causing long passenger queues.
Co said the outage was caused by a test cable inadvertently left attached to an electrical equipment by a Meralco Energy, Inc. (MServ) personnel. This happened in a NAIA substation during a scheduled electrical audit.
Co said the audit was part of MIAA’s power services improvement following a May 1 incident where NAIA Terminal 3 experienced widespread power outage that delayed and cancelled flights.
MServ is a subsidiary of Manila Electric Co. tapped to lead the full electrical audit of Terminal 3 to determine equipment needed to make the facility’s power system reliable and resilient.
Two substations, roadway 1 and roadway 2, which power the Terminal 3’s parking areas, were de-energized during the electrical audit that began at 7:45 a.m.
During re-energization at 12:52 p.m., Co said they received a report of the power outage.
NAIA’s generator sets (gensets) immediately kicked in but they only powered critical areas of Terminal 3.
Co apologized to passengers and stakeholders inconvenienced by the outage.
The MServ technical team said what happened is not equipment-related but a procedural lapse on the part of the MServ personnel. The erring personnel will be dealt with accordingly, said MServ.
Co noted MIAA is about to procure additional emergency gensets that will raise capacity to provide power requirements of the terminal to 80-90% from the current 30%.
He said they will first wait for the additional gensets before proceeding with the audit of other substations to ensure there is backup power.
Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista earlier noted the importance of a full electrical audit of Terminal 3, the power requirement of which has increased over the years with the growth in the number of flights, concessionaires inside the terminal, and equipment such air-conditioning units.
He said a full electrical audit was conducted in 2017 but not all recommendations were implemented.
NAIA Terminal 3 also experienced a power outage in May and on January 1, 2023. The January 1 power outage was caused by a technical glitch involving the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ air traffic control system.
