The incident caused departures to be delayed by an average of 45 minutes.
Early Tuesday (November 11), the operations at the Air Traffic Management (ATM) Center was briefly disrupted by a “false fire alarm,” the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said in its statement.
According to the agency, the alarm was triggered around 1:24 am, which prompted the activation of the ATM’s contingency plan and safety protocols and resulted to a temporary hold on departures.
However, normal operations at the center resumed by 2:50 am, with all restrictions having been lifted at 3:16 am.
CAAP noted that a total of 59 commercial and cargo flights were delayed by an average of 45 minutes before being cleared for departure.
Seven arriving flights were also affected by the incident.
In his statement, CAAP Director General and Retired Lt. Gen. Raul Del Rosario said all contingency plan ensuring safety were properly observed and swiftly executed.
He told, “We commend our air traffic controllers for their professionalism and quick response, which ensured that flight safety was never compromised and that operations returned to normal immediately.”
Del Rosario furthered that this incident underscored CAAP’s “continued commitment to maintaining the highest standards of aviation safety and readiness.”
Meanwhile, the agency will conduct an internal investigation to prevent similar occurrences in tge future.