The Ninoy Aquino International Airport -Terminal 3 is undergoing power maintenance to address the deteriorating medium voltage switchgear components across eight electrical substations at the terminal, which may cause inconvenience for some air travelers.
“Reduced air conditioning supply in certain areas as well as some elevators and escalators not functioning may be experienced from time to time,” the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said in a statement released on Thursday.
But the airport management assured that the activities did not pose any significant disruptions to both passengers and flight operations due to a well-organized and coordinated work plan.
It stated that the terminal has standby generator sets at each substation to provide uninterrupted power supply to critical airport systems, ensuring continuous processing of passengers and flights.
Airport officials said the power maintenance activities, which were started on April 2 and are expected to be completed before the end of next month, are part of the Terminal 3 Electrical Systems Upgrade Project that was started last year.
MIAA General Manager Eric Jose Ines seeks the support and understanding of all airport users in “this important undertaking.”
“We apologize to all our airport stakeholders. Rest assured that the benefits of this electrical systems upgrade will far outweigh the inconveniences it may bring during its implementation. We seek more patience and understanding from everyone,” the airport chief stressed.
The power shutdowns will be sectoral and will affect the open and multilevel parking, substations in the South and North concourses, and the main substation of Terminal 3. The shutdowns will start at midnight when the least number of flights are scheduled.
MIAA is committed to completing these necessary and crucial upgrades while dealing with inevitable power interruptions during the project.
The first of this series of interruptions was carried out from November 29 to December 13, 2023, covering different areas of NAIA Terminal 3.
As of this writing, no delays or cancellations attributable to the maintenance works were reported.
The airport management recently came under fire following a series of power outages during peak travel dates that have caused a lot of frustration for air travelers.
Netizens have criticized the management for their lack of preparation and inability to prevent these interruptions. They said MIAA must take responsibility for the outages and actively work towards finding a long-term solution to prevent any future occurrences.