No chance passengers allowed at airports

MANILA, Philippines — Domestic and international passengers without confirmed tickets for the day will not be allowed at the airport terminals to avoid congestion and getting stranded.

Security personnel at the checkpoint area will ask passengers of private cars or taxis to show their confirmed tickets for the current day’s travel before allowing them into the departure area, according to Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal.

Those who have no confirmed tickets will be turned away, Monreal said, as he appealed to passengers not to go to the airport unless they have tickets for the day’s flight schedule.

A majority of departing passengers who have no tickets or merely hoping to be accommodated in the next available flight home have pitched camped under the skyway near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

Some of these people wanted to avail themselves of the Balik-Probinsya program of the government. Others said they learned that some of them were able to board a sweeper flight back to their respective provinces.

Airport police Capt. Arnold Napalan said they were instructed by their higher officials to list the names and contact numbers of people wanting to be included in a sweeper flight.

Medical clearance for passengers

People stranded during the lockdown and want to go home need to present medical certificates before they will be allowed to board their flights.

Airline industry and other stakeholders asked the government to include medical certificates among the requirements to travel, aside from a travel authority.

The consensus was reached during a teleconference with airline company officials and other concerned agencies yesterday, according to Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, deputy chief for operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Eleazar said representatives from local government units (LGUs) want returning travelers to present the certificate as proof they are not infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

He said they have coursed the request to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, vice chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

There have been reports of stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival at their home provinces.

The medical certificate should be issued by the city or municipal health offices where these people stayed during the lockdown, or hospitals and clinics accredited by the Department of Health. Emmanuel Tupas