21, May 2024

On 20 May, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) promptly addressed and resolved a software issue encountered by its Flight Data Processing System (FDPS). The FDPS is part of the Air Traffic Management System (ATMS), which processes flight plan information and other data to support air traffic control operations.

The software issue was first detected at around 11:30 a.m. Immediately, CAAP coordinated with Thales, its solution provider, to consult on this issue and provide remote support.

While during the incident, the communications, navigation, and surveillance equipment used in air traffic operations remained fully functional, CAAP took proactive measures and implemented contingency procedures to ensure the safety of the flying public, resulting in longer separation between departing flights.

During the course of the assessment, personnel discovered that the FDPS was unable to send flight data to the controller workstations as expected. This issue impacted traffic flow in and out of Manila.

At 11:51 a.m., the component of the FDP responsible for recovering lost flight displays became operational. From there, the issue was gradually resolved until the main FDP was operational with flight data (a single system for the meantime) at 1:11 p.m. and was fully operational at 1:40 p.m.

Prepared for this kind of situation, the Air Navigation Service (ANS) has counter-procedures to manage such downtime safely and effectively.

Likewise, the CAAP’s Air Traffic Service (ATS) is ready with an air traffic management contingency plan. The procedures established herein were executed during the incident to eliminate risk and ensure the safety of the flying public. The ATS transferred to manual data transmission using paper strips and used procedural separation to ensure safety, maintaining a separation of approximately 10 minutes between aircraft.

The technical issue resulted in disruptions to flight schedules across several airports, causing the delay of 75 flights and the cancellation of 34 flights.

The CAAP apologizes for the disruption and would like to convey that it remains committed to improving the country’s air traffic management and ensuring the safety of the flying public, with the current system presently undergoing an upgrade to enhance its self-detection capabilities for such issues.

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