Flight operations at the country’s premiere airport returned back to normal at 7:10 a.m. Monday after power to the Area Control Center (ACC) of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) was fully restored.

This as President Arroyo, concerned about the effects of the airport breakdown on the country's security, tourism, and its over-all image abroad, demanded an urgent report from transport and airport officials regarding the problem.

Flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport were adversely affected Sunday afternoon after the ACC suffered a power outage that resulted in the loss of radar and communication links between air traffic controllers and the pilots of incoming and outgoing flights.

Because of the power outage and the failure of the uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system from energizing the long-range radars, the ACC had to rely on a medium-range radar system to control air traffic. It switched over the task of guiding air traffic to the Manila Approach Radar.

More than 20 departing flights were cancelled last Sunday and dozens of arriving flights were delayed as landing intervals between flights were increased from two minutes to 10 minutes.

NAIA Terminal Manager Octavio Lina explained that the longer separation between flights was necessary to assure safety of incoming and outgoing flights. With the long separation, however, some arriving flights were forced to divert to other airports to refuel.

A statement from the CAAP placed the blame on the radar system’s UPS which failed to activate when the power outage hit. It was learned that the UPS used by the radar system has not been replaced for 13 years.

According to CAAP spokesperson Ed Batac, they are now fast-tracking the replacement of the UPS systems and assured that they have put in place contingency plans to prevent the recurrence of a similar incident.

Sources from the Airline Operators Council disclosed that the delays on flight operations could cost more than a million dollars because of missed connections and delayed turn-around flights.

An airline official who requested anonymity scored the CAAP for being ill-equipped despite having the funds for upgrading equipment and for not having an updated disaster recovery plan.

President Arroyo, according to Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez, wanted authorities to probe the cause of the radar malfunction as she vowed that negligent parties would be held accountable.

“Many flights have been affected. Many passengers sacrificed for it and the Palace has now instructed the airport authorities, the CAAP, to submit a report as soon as possible regarding the incident before the Office of the President,” Golez said.

He said Malacañang detests the latest inefficiency in airport operations that endangered the safety of passengers and placed the country in a bad light.

He said the government is also worried that the problem may have affected the tourism industry, particularly first-time visitors who had a bad experience in the country.

“It is true that not only the passengers will be affected but the consequences to tourism, safety, breach of security during the time when it fell into darkness. This must be immediately investigated,” Golez said.

“This will entail wastage in the plane roving around waiting to be diverted and the reputation of the Philippines on first timers. Even before they enter, it’s not a very good impression for tourists and we would like to prevent this,” he said.

“Let the axe fall where they may. Titingnan natin kung sino may kasalanan dito. This goes against the principle of giving safety to our passengers,” he said.

He said they wanted to know the status of many consultants hired by the airport supposed to improve the efficiency.

“If they have a lot of consultants and there is still a drag in efficiency then something must be wrong,” he said.

He said investigators should look into all angles, including possible sabotage.