The operation of all airports in the country has back to normal following the system glitch that affected at least 200 flights and stranded nearly 60,000 passengers on New Year's Day, a Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippine (CAAP) official said on Tuesday.

"As of now, the operation in the whole country is already back to normal. It means everything is now working and our airspace is now covered by our radar and our communication," CAAP Deputy Director General Edgardo Diaz said during the "Laging Handa" public briefing on Tuesday.

Diaz said CAAP are coordinating with airlines to resume flight operations.

"We are continuously coordinating with the carriers for that. The airlines have their own plans to address the inconvenience," he said.

"As of now we are monitoring it closely. We are coordinating with the carriers as well as with the airports, to ensure the safety and address the problem of our passengers," he added.

Diaz also reiterated the need to upgrade the communications, navigation and surveillance air traffic management system after a problem in the system’s electrical network occurred last Sunday.

"The tools going to our communication, navigation and surveillance air traffic management system are constantly undergoing regular maintenance. That equipment which is already in its mid-life; it's not yet completely obsolete, though we need upgrades to make sure that it can still respond to all our needs now," he said.

"The performance of this equipment is still good, what just happened was due to a power outage that shutdown the operation. But when the power was restored, we were able to restore its operation," he added.

Diaz said the CAAP is also assessing a recommendation to upgrade the system.

"That is being coordinated with all the engineers, even the technical people to find out what we really need to repair and replace and what could be the recommendation," he said.

Diaz said the estimated budget needed to upgrade the system will be determined after the completion of the assessment. Robina Asido/DMS