Failure of airline companies to meet their flight schedules, late arrival of aircrafts, and prolonged aircraft servicing on the ground are the main causes of flight delays in NAIA – not air traffic congestion.

Manila International Airport Authority’s general manager, Jose Angel Honrado, reiterated in a meeting with airline companies on Friday last week that carriers should meet their flight schedules to avoid flight delays.

According to MIAA, Honrado emphasized during the meeting that “what causes flight delay is not necessarily air congestion but airline companies falling short of meeting their flight schedules.”

“Should the first wave of flights from 4am to 7am be delayed, this will also affect succeeding flights of the day,” a press release from MIAA quoted him.

“From a three-day average in January this year, 27 flights were delayed during the first wave only. This caused an average of 103 delayed flights for the rest of the day. Similarly, 10 delayed flights were recorded from a three-day average in February causing 45 delayed flights throughout the day,” MIAA further explained.

Long aircraft servicing on the ground and late arrival of aircraft from its point of origin have also been identified as causes of delays. During the meeting, solutions like including hastening ground servicing of aircrafts and adjusting passenger loading time have been proposed.

NAIA is capable to accommodate all its flights – an average of 648 flights a day in 2014, said Honrado.