Bomb sniffing dogs and police walk outside a hotel at the Resorts World Manila complex, early Friday, June 2, 2017, in Pasay City. Gunshots and explosions rang out early Friday at a mall, casino and hotel complex near Manila’s international airport, sparking a security alarm amid an ongoing Muslim militant siege in the country’s south. (Photo by AARON FAVILA / AP)
Operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) returned to normal following a two-hour early morning shutdown of its terminals on Friday.
But security remained at a high level following the incident at Resorts World Manila, just across one of the Naia Terminal 3.
According to Ed Monreal, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager. the main gates of the four Naia terminals were briefly shut from 1:45 a.m. to 3:45 a.m. Friday “due to the proximity of Naia to Resorts World.”
“We wanted to make sure that the situation will not pose a threat to our operations,” Monreal explained.
Access to the terminals was restricted to passengers and airport personnel, which was extended beyond the closure period.
With a high alert level hoisted over Naia, Monreal advised passengers to come in early for the “heightened security screening process” and said that the issuance of access passes to well-wishers was suspended in the meantime.
The Office for Transportation Security (OTS) has raised security Condition 2 (Secco 2), which means an extra layer of specific protective screening measures will be undertaken on passengers and their baggage.
Monreal said that personnel of the Airport Police Department and the Special Reaction Unit had been deployed to parking areas for blocking operations and as augmentation at Naia checkpoints, including at the Naia Expressway toll gates, for rigid vehicle inspection.
The measures, Monreal said, are intended to assure airport users of a “safer environment” and are not meant to sow fear, cause panic or scare the public.
Due to the incident, Cebu Pacific offered the options of a free rebooking or a full refund to its passengers for flights scheduled on Friday.
In a statement, Charo Lagamon said passengers whose flights were scheduled on Friday mcould ay avail of a free rebooking within 30 days or opt for a full refund.
Passengers, Lagamon said, could also place the full cost of the ticket in a travel fund for future use.
Affected passengers were advised to get in touch with the airline if they wished to avail of any of the options.
Heightened security at Nai also prompted Cebu Pacific to advise passengers to allot more time for check-in and processing at the airport.
Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines (Pal) said that four of its domestic flights were delayed on Friday due to the two-hour early morning closure of the Naia terminals.
According to Pal, among the flights whose departure were delayed were PR 2993 to Zamboanga, PR 2519 to Cagayan, PR 2981 to Tacloban, and PR 2021 to Masbate. /atm
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