MAD RUSH | The Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 1 is packed with passengers on March 29, 2023, days before the expected travel rush during Holy Week. (Photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Anticipating busier air traffic during the long Holy Week break, the country’s major airlines on Monday appealed to travelers to be at the airports earlier than usual for their flights and use online check-in to avoid long queues.
Speaking at the televised Laging Handa public briefing, Philippine Airlines (PAL) spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said the flag carrier was expecting a 15- to 20-percent increase in the number of passengers arriving at its main hub, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 2.
“Normally the arrival level per day is 18,000 in Terminal 2 and 6,700 in Terminal 1. The peg of the increase is [the] prepandemic [level] and with revenge travel, we are [anticipating] the same level or even more, because this is the first Holy Week after the pandemic that travel borders are open [with] the recent easing of travel restrictions,” she said.
Villaluna said that even before the Holy Week, PAL’s counters were already fully manned to handle passenger demand and ensure convenient and hassle-free flights.
She said PAL was allowing passengers to check in as early as five to six hours before their flights, instead of the normal three hours.
“This will create a spread in terms of the volume of passengers utilizing the check-in counters. Instead of everyone going to the check-in counters [three hours before the flight], now they are spread within a five- to six-hour period,” she said.
Cebu Pacific spokesperson Carmina Romero, another briefing guest, said the airline was also preparing for the influx of passengers going on vacation with their families, especially with the five-day break from April 6 to April 10.
Precautions
Romero said passengers should also take into account possible traffic congestion on the roads leading to the airports.“If traffic is heavy before you reach the airport, you might miss your flight. [The] counter closes one hour before departure. That is why it’s a big help if you check in online because you can [immediately] get your boarding pass,” she pointed out.
PAL’s Villaluna also noted that despite the easing of travel restrictions, passengers should make sure they have the proper documents, including IDs with names matching the ones on the plane ticket and passport.
She said they should also bring their vaccine cards and other health documents, especially to certain destinations that still require them, noting that some countries admit only inbound passengers inoculated with specific brands of vaccine.
Villaluna advised passengers who encounter baggage problems to not leave the airport immediately and to fill out a “baggage irregularity report” to aid the airline in addressing the problem right at the terminal level.
Romero also apologized for delays and glitches in Cebu Pacific’s Super Pass promo, attributing them to the big number of customers who availed themselves of the voucher sale.
Terminals ready
Around 1.2 million passengers are seen to travel through the four terminals of Naia during Holy Week, according to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
MIAA General Manager Cesar Chiong noted that “Oplan Biyaheng Ayos: Semana Santa 2023” was all set to accommodate the expected 140,000 daily passenger traffic.
“We’re prepared. We are doing all of these initiatives in order to give our riding public a seamless travel experience here at Naia, especially since this is the first time that we’ll have quite a long Semana Santa after 2019,” Chiong said in a press conference.
The MIAA assured the public that there would be no significant flight delays and disruptions as the airport terminals have sufficient manpower and equipment.
“[What] we see as a critical battleground in terms of managing the queues and the experience is [the Bureau of] Immigration (BI), as well as our final security points under the Office for Transportation Security (OTS),” MIAA Senior Assistant General Manager Bryan Co said.
The BI will deploy 63 temporary immigration officers coming in from the main office and other ports to ease the long queues.
Similarly, the OTS pledged 50 of its personnel to take over baggage feeders and passenger controllers, while another 100 personnel would be redeployed to passenger screening points.The MIAA encouraged passengers to complete eTravel registration online prior to arrival to expedite processing at the immigration and quarantine gates.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has set up a multiagency command center to monitor the status of major transportation hubs in the metropolis from Holy Monday until April 6 using security cameras.