Thrilla in NAIA

There are  burning issues of the day, from the Corona impeachment trial to the Spratlys dispute in the national scene and the impending Apas demolition here in Cebu but all this was eclipsed  by the airport brawl between Mon Tulfo and showbiz couple Raymart Santiago-Mon Tulfo and Claudine Barretto.

Video footage of the fight taken by a quick-reflexed witness  found its way to Facebook, Twitter  and all major news websites.

The heat stemmed from Claudine’s baggage being offloaded a flight of Cebu Pacific.

She was berating a female airline ground attendant when Tulfo, who had just arrived from a flight from Davao, whipped out his cellphone camera and took photos of the exchange.

The actress took offense and demanded for the phone.  He refused.

What happened next is still being untangled in the  quest for who threw the first punch, slap or kick.

Such altercations aren’t alien in  airports, especially when its high season for travel, flights are “overbooked” by 20 percent per industry practice, and customers of low cost carriers get surprised by services that fall short of expectations.

Last year, two Chinese travel writers were escorted off the plane after yelling at and elbowing Eldon Cruz,  husband of presidential sister Ballsy Aquino-Cruz inside a Cebu Pacific flight that just arrived at the Cebu-Mactan International Airport.

The incident was treated with great restraint by the aggrieved couple, who proceeded with their main engagement in Cebu, standing as sponsors in a wedding.

They raised their  complaint through channels but didn’t claw their way to get even with the  aggressors.

What a difference  in customer behaviour between both scenes.

Celebrities are open targets of public scrutiny and an airport arrival area is about as public as you can get.

The papparazi reflex of Tulfo isn’t surprising. So too, perhaps, is  the diva response of Claudine Barreto, but the pummeling Tulfo received from the combined fists of  the actress,  husband Raymart and their male companions was overboard drama.

Back to the source of the heat and public interest. The unexpected violence wasn’t picked up by  security cameras in the airport.

Second, the budget airline  faces numerous complaints of short-cut services.

Avelino Zapanta,  president of  Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR), pointed out that passengers of  low cost carriers should expect reduced services due to cheap tickets.

Still, he correctly pointed out that Cebu Pacific should have informed the Santiago couple  about the weight limit of the plane they rode nd the risk of offloading luggage without notice  before they arrived in Manila. This could have averted the  tongue-lashing Claudine gave to the counter staff, which led to Tulfo’s cellphone-camera snapshots and the airport spat.