Toshi K/Shutterstock
- A Qantas flight traveling from Sydney to the Philippines was forced to turn back on New Year’s Day.
- The Philippines’ airspace was closed after a power outage affected the air traffic control system.
- A spokesperson for Qantas said: “All airlines were prevented from arriving into Manila on Sunday.”
A plane traveling from Sydney to the Philippines was forced to turn back mid-flight after air traffic control issues closed the country’s airspace.
The Qantas flight was around three hours into the New Year’s Day flight to Manila when the airspace was shut down, a Qantas representative confirmed to Insider. The pilots were forced to end the journey to the capital of the Philippines, which was due to last eight hours.
A spokesperson for the airline told Insider: “All airlines were prevented from arriving into Manila on Sunday afternoon as local authorities closed the local airspace. This meant our flight from Sydney had to turn around.”
The plane eventually arrived in Manila on Monday morning after refueling in Sydney and departing at around 11.30 p.m., more than 10 hours after its original take-off time, per the Guardian.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines blamed the closure on a power outage caused by an issue with the air traffic control system’s electrical network, according to a statement shared on Twitter. The statement added that the main cause of the power supply issues was still being determined.
The Philippines’ transportation secretary, Jaime Bautista, apologized to passengers for the air traffic management issues caused by a power outage. He added that the system was outdated and needed to be upgraded, the Guardian reported.
Airline passengers have been heavily impacted by travel issues over the holiday season. US airports have been particularly affected after the country was hit by severe weather over the holiday weekend.
