Cebu airport braces for arrival of IEC delegates

CEBU, Philippines - The GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) is now preparing for the arrival of expected delegates to the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in January which will be hosted by Cebu.

Estee Marie Plunket, corporate affairs head of GMCAC, said they are planning to install information desks at Mactan-Cebu International Airport to accommodate pilgrims from different countries who may have concerns.

IEC will take place on January 24 to 31 in Cebu City but the Local World Youth Day will be held in Lapu-Lapu City on January 28.

Over 15,000 delegates are expected to be in Cebu for the weeklong congress.

Plunket said it is important for them to facilitate the smooth entry of delegates, considering that MCIA has been cited as the 18th best airport in Asia by a Canadian-led travel website.

The airport, Plunket said, will be slowly upgrading this month, including the naming of its domestic and international departure areas as now north wing and south wing, respectively.

She said in the past years, there were separate check-in counters for international and domestic flights but now travelers may go through one of the check-in kiosks of each airline and get themselves checked in.

Plunket said they will improve their baggage handling system next year.

She added that flight information monitors will soon be installed in the airport, as well as large signages for the security checkpoint and drop-off points.

The Aviations Security Group and Office for Transport Security will also remain vigilant and on their toes to ensure security for the outbound and inbound passengers, she assured.

Earlier, Senior Superintendent Joselito Salido, chief of ASG-7, said MCIA is on heightened alert until the end of IEC.

Aside from IEC participants, Plunket said they are also expecting arrivals of tourists who will join the Sinulog festivities and spend the upcoming summer here.

According to the IEC 2016 website (www.iec2016.ph), a Eucharistic Congress is an international gathering of people aimed at promoting an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church.

The Roman Ritual De Sacra Communione et de Cultu Mysterii Eucharistici extra Missam defines the Congress as “a pause for commitment and prayer to which a particular Church invites the universal Church.”

During this time “the celebration of the Eucharist becomes the center and vortex of all forms of piety, of theological and pastoral reflections, of social commitment.”

The Philippines last hosted IEC in 1937 in Manila. Over 600,000 people were believed to have attended the religious procession that culminated the congress.  — Christell Fatima M. Tudtud (FREEMAN)