MANILA, Philippines—The bees that caused the disruption of airport operations on Thursday and caused flight delays could have been smuggled by a passenger.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado said the Bureau of Animal Quarantine ruled out the possibility that the bees came from grassy area or plants within the area.
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“They have a theory that a passenger could have smuggled the bees and it escaped,” Honrado said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer’s Tapatan with Jay
Sonza and Den Macaranas.
Airport employees were stunned when bees suddenly swarmed around the control panels of at least five aerobridges at Gates 32 to 38 at around 1 p.m. Thursday, preventing controllers from attaching the movable walkways to arriving airplanes, according to Andrew Balde, assistant manager at Terminal 2.
Airport authorities immediately ordered the temporary closure of the terminal gates, saying the incident posed a danger to passengers and airport workers.