Sen. Grace Poe Senate PRIB file photo / Joseph Vidal
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Grace Poe on Monday called on government agencies to address the congestion in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), especially amid the influx of passengers during the holidays.
Poe noted in her privilege speech that “pace is becoming increasingly scarce in the whole Naia complex.”
According to Poe, Naia has a rated capacity of 35 million passengers and 250,000 flights, however, in 2019, actual passenger volume reached 47.88 million while actual flights reached 277,530 —- which means the airport breached passenger capacity by over 36 percent, while flight capacity has exceeded by 11 percent.
“In other words, our primary aerial entry point is now a major chokepoint. Simple lang po ang hatol sa Naia: tinimbang ngunit kulang pa rin,” she added.
Poe then reminded the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to fulfill the laundry list of solutions, commitments and promises it has put forward during the hearings for the 2023 budget.
“Next year, sisingilin po namin kayo. Hahanapin po namin ang actual outputs ng digitalization and automation at ang capacity-building reduction of red tape across all phases of passenger processing,” she said.
Meanwhile, to automate and digitize transactions, Poe also pushed for the passage of the proposed E-Government and E-Governance bills in Naia, urging airport concessionaires to make cashless payment available as an option for purchases.
For night-rated international airports outside of Metro Manila, Poe said establishments should operate 24 hours if commercially viable, while Automated Teller Machines, or ATMs, should always be functioning for travelers’ cash needs.
“All these will lead to passenger convenience that will spur more visitors and economic activities,” she said.
Poe tells DOTr to work with MIAA
In the same speech, Poe also urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to work with MIAA to assess the duration of a passenger’s entire procedure at the Naia, including X-ray procedures, immigration lines, actual check-in, and the numerous checks for flight itineraries.
“All these tediousness add to the painfully long three to four hours boarding procedure, which is sometimes even longer than the flight time itself. We should stop this ridiculousness all at once using actual data to improve passenger experience,” Poe said.
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