Airport authorities brace for holiday arrivals

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) has started its “Caap Balik Pasko 2017” program to ensure passengers’ convenience in the country’s 35 airports ahead of the Christmas holidays.

Caap director general Jim Sydiongco said in a statement on Sunday that additional measures would be in place to ensure safe, reliable and convenient operations at all of 35 airports operated by the Caap from Dec. 1, 2017, to Jan. 5, 2018.

Sydiongco said the number of air passengers was expected to increase by about 10 percent based on the agency’s data. Last year, Caap recorded a total of 18,337,772 passenger movements in the airports under its charge.

To assure the riding public that the measures will be successfully implemented, all leaves of absence of operations personnel are canceled to make them available and augment airport service staff, he said.

Sydiongco said government agencies in charge of airport security, such as the transportation department’s Office of Transportation Security and the Philippine National Police-Aviation Security Group, had been requested to deploy enough personnel.

He said coordination had been made with airlines regarding the processing of passengers, especially at the check-in counters, adding that airlines have also been requested to deploy more personnel to handle the increase in travelers.

Meanwhile, Sydiongco also reminded all Caap employees and officials to strictly adhere to the government’s “no gift policy” and refrain from accepting, directly or indirectly, any gift or favor from individuals, companies or third parties.

The “no gift policy” is provided under Section 7(d) of Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. —JEROME ANING