New normal: MIAA to enforce new rules at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines — The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is preparing to implement new guidelines as the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) adopted the new protocols set by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for a “new normal” in international and domestic terminals across the country.

The DOTr-established new protocols are aimed to prevent the further spread of the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19. These guidelines will be put in place once travel restrictions are lifted and NAIA resumes operations.

DOTr listed nine rules that revolve around safety and hygiene to avert the transmission of the virus:

1. Wearing of face masks when entering the airport facility
2. Everyone entering the airport complex must submit themselves to a mandatory body temperature check.
3. Social distancing measures shall be strictly observed at all queuing points inside and outside the terminal building. When seating, a “one-seat apart policy” shall be enforced.
4. With the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) taking the lead, security procedures shall be done through a “no contact means” but not limited to the use of walk-through x-ray machines, portable scanners, handheld metal detectors, and the like, effectively limiting pat-down or manual frisking to exceptional instances or situations.
5. Only passengers with valid travel documents and confirmed bookings for the day will be allowed to enter the airport facility.
6. Continuous disinfection of all NAIA facilities especially those used for flight operations. These include, among others, aerobridges, baggage conveyors, check-in counters, immigration, customs, and other help desks. Disinfection activities are also done extensively on other airport facilities and equipment such as x-ray machines and trays, inspection tables, pushcarts, wheelchairs, and other frequently touched surfaces.
7. Foot baths shall remain in all entry and exit points of passengers and airport personnel, including boarding bridges and/or similar areas for passenger embarkation/disembarkation to and from the aircraft.
8. Safety precaution posters and other health guidelines shall be displayed at noticeable places in the NAIA Terminals. Alert bulletins shall be made through the airport information boards and other display systems and through public announcements in MIAA’s official social media sites.
9. As required by the Bureau of Quarantine, all passengers that are departing and arriving shall be required to electronically fill-out Health Declaration Form and Passenger Locator Forms for straightforward contact tracing.

MIAA general manager Ed Monreal said the agency has purchased a total of 2,765 boxes or 133,750 pieces of surgical masks and has also initiated the procurement of 4,5000 articles of washable masks.

“We have to stock-up and be prudent in our distribution especially that wearing of masks will now become the new normal,” he said.

The Bureau of Quarantine assisted the MIAA in determining the type of personal protective equipment that its employees will use in their respective workstations.

“We want to make sure that they have the right kind of protection as the nature of their jobs would require,” Monreal noted.

KGA