The Department of Transportation headed by Secretary Jaime Bautista, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Cesar Chiong and Tourism Secretary Cristina Frasco led an ocular inspection of the four NAIA Terminals in view of the Lenten season.
The said officials were also accompanied by senior assistant general manager Bryan Co and Usec Jonathan Segismundo, along with airport police department assistant head Bing Jose and PAL President Capt. Stanley Ng, as they first visited NAIA Terminal 2 where they checked on the passeneger status and the new decorations and seats which features native products and Filipino artisans.
“We want to see the new decorations. This is part of our joint project with the DOT and the MIAA. These new features were designed and funded by the DOT.” Bautista said, adding that the NAIA 2 is the pilot terminal as they plan to do the same with the other NAIA Terminals as well.
Frasco said the new look at the NAIA 2 is part of a program jointly agreed upon by the DOTr and the DOT and aimed at identifying gateways that will be given ‘Filipino touch’ so as to enhance overall tourist experience, noting that the first and last experience of tourists is with the airports. She thanked Bautista for the creation of the said program and for being “very open to suggestions especially in improving touch points.. to give our passengers a comfortable andd pleasurable experience.”
Meantime, Bautista said that the passenger volume as of Tuesday remained low but that they expect the real surge to happen between Wednesday and Sunday.
Chiong earlier announced that they are expecting 120,000 to 140,000 passengers per day leading to the peak days of the Holy Week, but Bautista said they are anticipating the number of air travelers to even hit two million.
Chiong was praised by Bautista for the very orderly flow of traffic passengers at the premier NAIA terminals and assured air travelers that this kind of situation will continue during the season.
“The MIAA management really prepared for it (Lenten exodus) and GM Chiong has assured that there are enough numbers of people to assist and see to it that all the questions and issues from passengers will be addressed and taken care of,” said Bautista, as he announced an increase in the number of screeners and security personnel deployed for the duration of the season.
“We are here to make travel experience safe, accessible and convenient. As you can see, our airports are well-maintained and the flow of passengers is very smooth. We intend to continue this until the end of and after the Lenten season,” Bautista added. (JERRY S. TAN)
