NAIA bracing for ‘Semana’ surge, expecting 1.2 million passengers

MANILA, Philippines — Bracing for an expected 1.2 million passengers this Holy Week, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has activated its “Oplan Biyaheng Ayos: Semana Santa 2023” to ensure smooth operations at the four terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

In a statement, MIAA general manager Cesar Chiong said their operation plan began yesterday, the eve of Palm Sunday, and will last well after Easter Sunday until the April 10 holiday, when the nation commemorates Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor).

Chiong said the NAIA terminals expect heavy passenger traffic throughout these 10 days, owing to the Lenten holidays when Filipinos observe Catholic traditions back in their provinces and when additional leaves are taken for an extended vacation.

Passenger traffic could reach 140,000 on any single day, he said, since border restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic have already been lifted.

With the Oplan in place, the MIAA ensures sufficient manpower and equipment for the influx; the availability of critical airport utilities, such as electricity, water, air conditioning and communications; amenities and “malasakit” kits for passengers in the event of flight disruptions and passenger assistance desks in all four terminals.

“We’re prepared. We are doing all of these initiatives in order to give our riding public a seamless travel experience here at NAIA, especially since this is the first time that we’ll have quite a long Semana Santa after 2019,” Chiong said at a press conference with Senior assistant general manager Bryan Co last March 29.

“One of the critical things we’re doing is talking to our government partners because it’s not just MIAA; there are more than 20 different government agencies working with us,” Co said.

Among these partners critical to managing the queues and the experience at NAIA are the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Office for Transportation Security (OTS).

Co said the BI has committed to bolstering their manpower at the NAIA terminals during Holy Week, with 63 immigration officers temporarily coming in from the main office and other ports.

Similarly, the OTS is deploying an additional 50 personnel to serve as baggage feeders and passenger controllers. Around 100 OTS personnel have been re-deployed to passenger screening points starting yesterday.

Airlines, meanwhile, were reminded to strictly adhere to the Air Passenger Bill of Rights and extend “malasakit” or concerned assistance to the riding public; deploy enough “sweepers” to locate passengers requiring prioritization in immigration queues and open their check-in counters earlier when possible, and close them on time.

Law enforcement agencies are on board to ensure safe, secure and orderly operations, along with the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the local government units of Pasay and Parañaque cities, which will help facilitate the smooth flow of traffic around the NAIA complex.

To service the increased demand for land transportation at NAIA, MIAA has urged its transport concessionaires to ensure maximum deployment of units, especially during peak hours of arrivals, and Point-to-Point (P2P) operators to deploy more buses plying the NAIA route.

In addition, NAIA allows metered white taxis, while MIAA and Grab’s “Airport to Anywhere” program deploys a dedicated fleet of Grab-accredited vehicles with fixed pricing and no surge charges.

To avoid possible delays, passengers are advised to check-in online, arrive at the airport on time – at least three hours before departure for international flights and two hours before departure for domestic flights – and go straight to the pre-departure area immediately after checking in.

In order to expedite processing at the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ) and BI counters, international inbound travelers to the Philippines are reminded to complete the eTravel registration online prior to arrival.

Philippine passport holders are encouraged to use the immigration e-gates upon arrival.

In a related development, the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) will deploy over 1,500 traffic and toll lane management personnel for the Holy Week.

As early as March 31, more than 1,000 traffic and toll operations personnel, including security and incident response teams, were deployed to the North Luzon Expressway-Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (NLEX- SCTEX); 500 to the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), C5 Link and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) and 68 to the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) to provide immediate assistance and ensure the safety of the public. — Ramon Efren Lazaro