Poe disappointed with NAIA 3 baggage delays, calls for urgent fix

TECHNICAL ISSUE Cebu Pacific has apologized to passengers whose baggage were left behind at NAIA after the bag handling system conked out. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Grace Poe expressed disappointment with baggage delays at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

In a statement, Poe noted that technical issues with the 20-year-old baggage handling system at NAIA Terminal 3 disrupted operations on October 18, leaving many passengers without their checked-in luggage upon arrival at their destinations.

READ: Baggage delays seen at Naia 3 until July

“It’s unacceptable that hundreds of luggage are stuck at the airport due to a technical glitch. A delayed flight is a bad thing; a mishandled or delayed luggage is equally disappointing,” said Poe on Thursday.

In September, the San Miguel Corp.-led New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC) assumed control of the airport’s operations and maintenance, announcing that improving the baggage handling system was among its top priorities.

READ: Bag handling system at Naia T3 bogs down

Poe stressed that “whoever is responsible must address the matter urgently as what’s piling up in the airport are valuable belongings of passengers.”

The senator also pointed out that the technical issues must be resolved together with the rehabilitation of NAIA.

“The airport management and the airline owe it to the affected passengers to be helpful and show they are not sitting on the problem,” she said. Emmanuel John Abris,INQUIRER.net trainee