MINDANAO GATEWAY The Davao International Airport, a major gateway to Mindanao, will implement health screening of passengers amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Commercial flights are expected to resume next week once the Davao City government sets up a COVID-19 testing center at the airport. —BING GONZALES
DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines — All passengers leaving this city through the Davao International Airport will soon be required to undergo health screening at a testing facility for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) before they are allowed to board their flights.
Rex Obcena, Davao manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), said his agency had acceded to Mayor Sara Duterte’s request to have the testing center set up, causing a slight delay in the reopening of the city’s airport.
He said domestic flights would resume by June 8 and international flights by June 22.
The testing laboratory, Obcena said, will have to be accredited by the Department of Health.
“We support this suggestion of the (city government) for seamless movement in the airport. Passengers should be tested at the airport of departure,” he said.
Duterte said the city had written the Department of Transportation to suggest that such procedure be made standard in all airports in the country. Those who tested positive for the coronavirus will not be allowed to board their flights.
The city government had proposed that testing would be done one to three days before a scheduled flight.
Duterte said testing at the airport of departure would spare health workers the burden of doing contact tracing because this could prevent a potential virus carrier from boarding a flight.
She said if a passenger would be tested at the airport of arrival, and that passenger turned out positive for the virus, then there would be a big number of people who could be considered as potentially infected, including airport employees and airline crew.
“That would give us many people to quarantine,” Duterte said.
Currently, passengers of sweeper flights are only tested upon arrival at the city’s airport. At least four had tested positive for COVID-19.
Duterte had asked agencies assisting stranded individuals from Davao City not to allow them into a flight if they showed symptoms of the disease.
Other conditions
Prior to the temporary closure of the airport, Davao had flights to Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Caticlan, Bohol and Manila.
Apart from the health protocol, the local government also wanted other issues resolved before the airport reopens.
Obcena said the local government suggested “limiting the flights per week, per airline” so congestion would be avoided and physical distancing would be observed well.
Earlier, Duterte projected that the city’s airport could accommodate only 2,000 outbound passengers daily, just 10 percent of its usual load before COVID-19 cases in the country increased in March. The spike in cases had forced the national government to impose community lockdowns and travel restrictions.
—With a report from Orlando B. Dinoy