NAIA navigation aid bogs down anew

MANILA, Philippines - The flight navigation aid known as the Very High Frequency Omni Directional Range (VOR) bogged down anew yesterday morning at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) issued a notice-to-airmen warning pilots that the VOR went off the air at around 10:40 a.m. yesterday and will resume at 8 a.m. today.

The VOR and the Instrument Landing System (ILS), working in tandem, allow airplanes to navigate until runway’s end, where the runway becomes visible at a certain distance and altitude. The absence of the navigational aids makes flying difficult, especially during bad weather with poor visibility.

Airport officials said that night operations at NAIA Terminals 1, 2, and 3, and the domestic airport would be affected and most of the arriving international and domestic flights might be diverted to Clark International Airport in Pampanga due to absence of the VOR.

As of 4 p.m. no flight had been diverted to Clark.

The VOR also bogged down for two hours last Oct. 9 and several flights were diverted to Clark.

In 2008, when the VOR and ILS at the NAIA went off the air for two months, airport officials had to “cannibalize” or get spare parts from the VOR in Subic to keep the airport operational.