Fog blankets Metro Manila

MANILA, Philippines - The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) cancelled yesterday flights of some small or light aircraft due to poor visibility as cold air from the northern hemisphere enveloped the entire country, as well as Borneo and Indonesia.

According to a weather forecaster assigned to the airport, the weather condition was exacerbated by the lack of strong winds that could have blown the fog covering the metropolis, including the NAIA runways.

“Right now the wind is only from one to three kilometers per hour, not enough to blow the fog away,” said the forecaster, who asked not to be identified. She added that a stiff breeze of 10 to 20 kph would be strong enough to blow away the smog over Metro Manila, but prevailing conditions favor cloudiness due to the cold air that continues to be blown in the direction of the Philippines from Siberia, China and Japan.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) had announced that visual flight rules (VFR) had been cancelled at the NAIA since daybreak, which started at 6:07 a.m. The cancellation remains in effect up to press time.

Only instrument flight rules were allowed at the NAIA yesterday. The CAAP said IFR is mandatory for commercial flights, while VFR usually applies to charter and executive flights and those by flying schools.

Thick clouds started blanketing the NAIA at dawn, according to CAAP Director General Ramon Gutierrez.

A privately owned Lear jet, with its pilot relying solely on flight instruments due to poor visibility, touches down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport yesterday morning. RUDY SANTOS

“The visibility is only from one to three kilometers, which is way beyond the five kilometers visibility required by law, that is why VFR has been cancelled,” CAAP spokesperson Floramel Joy Songsong said.

The VFR is the “see and be seen” concept, wherein a pilot relies mostly on landmarks such as mountains, rivers and buildings to be able to navigate and land, according to Songsong.

She said that despite the cancellations, only about 70 planes stayed on the ground. The CAAP said most commercial flights remain normal at NAIA.