Flight delays possible as ‘red lightning alert’ season nears

Airlines in the Philippines warned of the approaching “red lightning alert” (RLA) season, which could potentially cause flight delays.

An RLA is issued if there’s a severe weather condition, like thunderstorms, and once issued, all ground or ramp operations are halted.

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific said last year 1,078 of its flights were affected by 89 RLAs the entire year.

Most RLA happened in May with 20 incidents and in June with 27 incidents recorded.

This does not include the yellow lightning alert, which is a lighter warning status.

The airline has installed additional lightning shelters in various parts of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) that may be used by its personnel or other airlines’ staff.

Chief marketing and customer experience officer Candice Iyog said with more lightning shelters, it will be safer for ground crew as shelters will be nearer to them, and that means they can also return to work quicker once the alert is lifted.

“Before, it takes me five minutes to get to the building or to the closest shelter, and another five minutes to go back to the station. Maybe with more stations, it will take two minutes to take cover, and two minutes to come back,” Iyog said.

RLAs can be as short as a few minutes to potentially several hours, costing P5 million to 10 million per month based on estimates.

Aside from additional fuel and power usage because of delays, the carrier also provides assistance to passengers.

“At the second hour, if you’re at the boarding gates, we provide meals na kaagad,” revealed Lei Apostol, vice president for customer service operations.

Iyog added, “We have spare provisions, very generous spare provisions to ensure operational resilience even for things that are beyond our control.”

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista also advised passengers that flight interruptions may happen.

He said this is why both the Manila International Airport Authority and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines are working together to lessen the burden on passengers if RLA is issued.

“We conform to all these procedures and policies for the safety, not only of the aircraft but personnel handling flights working mostly to see to it na mabawasan ang inconvenience kung sakaling magkaroon ng tinatawag na [RLA],” Bautista said.

Both Philippine Airlines and AirAsia Philippines have also released statements, saying RLAs will be issued amid bad weather.

This is for the safety of personnel and passengers as well.

They appeal to the public for understanding and vow to assist passengers who may need help.

Meanwhile, Bautista said the flood which submerged the Dubai International Airport and cancelled several flights will not happen to NAIA.

No airport flooding like in Dubai

Despite NAIA having older facilities and encountering several problems, Bautista said NAIA has a better drainage system than the Dubai airport.

This is mostly because the

Philippines is used to heavy rains and this challenge is incorporated into many infrastructure facilities.

“Maganda naman ang ating drainage system dito. Ang pagkakaiba [lang], ang Dubai kasi hindi umuulan, so mukhang hindi naisama sa kanilang plano ‘yung pagawa or pagkakaroon ng magandang drainage system,” Bautista said.

He added that not only the Dubai airport was flooded, but basically many parts of the city.

“Nagbaha ang highway, ‘yung airport parang naging lake, ‘di ba?” he asserted.

Earlier, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific canceled their flight to and from Dubai on Wednesday, April 17, due to the floods.

The airline announced it will fly two planes to Dubai to rescue affected passengers who were stranded at the Dubai airport.

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