Subic airport comes to NAIA's rescue

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT -The Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) was able to save the country from international embarrassment by lending the key parts of a critical navigational aid system to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after the latter's own system bogged down last week.

The breakdown of NAIA's Doppler Very-High-Frequency Omni-directional Radio Range (DVOR), which is crucial for nighttime operations, led to the suspension of flights at the country's premier airport.

According to SBMA administrator Armand Arreza, the SBIA lent seven key parts of the DVOR, which helps pilots take off or land at night or during bad weather.

"It was fortunate that our DVOR parts were compatible with that of NAIA's, and more so, were available at that time," said Arreza, who was called immediately by Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) chief Alfonso Cusi during the emergency.

"Our national pride was at stake, so the SBMA readily assured the loan of our well-maintained aviation equipment," Arreza said.

The loaned DVOR parts have a total value of P10 million.

Helicopters with aviation technicians were deployed last Saturday to fetch SBIA's DVOR, which at that time laid idle as international flights here are set to resume only this July with the start of operations of SBIA's newest locator, American/Canadian investor Aviation Concept Holdings.

SBIA Manager B/Gen. Marcelo Santos (Ret) said that the Philippine aviation industry would have been in danger of suffering another downgrade by international aviation groups if not for the immediate solution rendered by CAAP.

"Delayed or canceled flights, diversions to other airports- millions of pesos of additional costs would have piled on airlines had authorities not remedied NAIA's DVOR breakdown," said Santos.

"It was really fortunate that SBMA's airport has the same navigational aid equipment because if it wasn't so, you can just imagine the international embarrassment we would have faced and the magnitude of the danger to aircrafts coming in ," he added.

Santos stressed however that NAIA must hasten the procurement of a new DVOR as Aviation Concept's aviation center at SBIA would start operations this July.

International air traffic here is expected to pick up once big-ticket investments on tourism like the Neocove and MCastle projects, and the renovation of the golf course here, are finished, he said.(30)