The Bureau of Immigration (BI) assured the public that it has uninterrupted service at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other international airports.
“Following the cancellation of flights due to the technical issues experienced at the airports, we expect a huge number of arriving and departing passengers in the next few days,” said BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco. “This adds to the already high number of travelers due to the holidays,” he added.
Tansingco assured the public that BI services at the airport remains unhampered, and that sufficient personnel have been deployed at the country’s airports.
BI Port Operations Division Chief Atty. Carlos Capulong added that while lines are expected due to the high volume of passengers both in the Philippines and in other countries, BI officers are able to process documents expeditiously.
“We have all hands on deck during this critical period,” said Capulong. “We have likewise instructed airport terminal heads to ensure all counters are manned,” he added.
Capulong also encouraged Filipinos to use the BI’s electronic gates, which could lessen processing time to as low as 8 seconds per passenger.
The BI reported processing a total of 12,304 arrivals on January 1, as compared to the 32,101 arrivals on new year’s eve. On the other hand, a total of 19,010 departures were recorded on new year, while 24,405 were processed on December 31.
According to a release by the Department of Transportation, NAIA resumed partial operations at 4pm, and normal operations resumed at 5:50pm. (JERRY S. TAN)
