Philippines: Power outage cripples Manila airport, thousands stranded

A rare power outage plunged a major section of the Philippine capital's main airport into darkness overnight, forcing flight cancellations that stranded thousands on Sunday. As many as 78 flights by the country's largest carrier Cebu Pacific were cancelled, affecting nearly 14,000 passengers, the company said in a statement. Philippine Airlines also said some of its flights were cancelled or delayed but could not immediately say how many. The blackout hit Terminal 3, which services mostly domestic flights, late on Saturday and power was not restored until before dawn on Sunday. Exhausted passengers sprawled on the floor as check-in counters and luggage carousels shut down. Long queues formed outside the terminal as entrances were closed until power was restored. Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport handles an average of 350 domestic and international flights daily. "We are looking into the root cause of this problem," Terminal 3 general manager Octavio Lina told DZMM radio.<br/>