MAIDEN FLIGHT | The Baguio airport in Barangay Loakan, idle for decades, has started receiving commercial flights when flag carrier Philippine Airlines started its Baguio-Cebu route on Dec. 16., 2022. (Photo by NEIL CLARK ONGCHANGCO)
MANILA, Philippines — All commercial airports under the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) are ready to handle the expected influx of passengers due to the holiday season.
Capt. Manuel Antonio Tamayo, the director-general of CAAP, has already directed all area center managers to make sure that the passenger terminal buildings will be able to accommodate the influx of passengers, according to a CAAP statement issued on Wednesday.
“We enjoin our airport managers and staff to be fully prepared to receive and send off passengers and to also be ready in case of flight delays,” Tamayo said.
“Let us take care of our passengers. Let us provide a convenient, safe, and secure travel experience this holiday season.”
The order includes ensuring enough chairs, baggage carts, operational escalators, and clean toilets inside the arrival and pre-departure areas and sufficient lights for parking areas and access roads within the airport.
Malasakit Help Desks are also stationed at the terminals to assist and provide information for passengers.
CAAP said that passenger volume is expected to rise even further, especially during the holiday season, after the resumption of operations of commercial flights at Loakan Airport in Baguio City and Borongan Airport in Eastern Samar, the addition of international flights to and from South Korea at Kalibo International Airport in Aklan, and a nationwide easing of travel restrictions.
Prior to the pandemic, CAAP-operated airports handled more than 29 million passengers in 2019, with the number of passengers reaching 2.53 million in December. A total of 18 million passengers were served by CAAP-operated airports from January through November 2022 alone.