MANILA- The transfer of eight (8) international airlines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 could be the cause of long queues of international departing passengers at the immigration counters.
In a statement, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) assured passengers who travel abroad via NAIA Terminal 3 that they have enough manpower assigned in the counters despite reports of overcrowding in the airport’s immigration departure area.
However, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who requested not to be named, said that contrary to the statement of Tansingco that the BI has enough manpower, some immigration officers were indolent in performing their tasks as they are seen frequently checking on their phones.
The OFWs added that there were instances that they missed to board their flights due to the delay in immigration formalities.
“Some immigration officers were haughty and acted as if they were entitled people rather than public servants. They look like an eye of the storm in our lives,” one of the OFWs added.
Tansingco said that immigration booths in NAIA 3 are always fully manned as the bureau has already beefed up the number of BI officers deployed at the premiere airport.
“But although our manpower at the airport is more than enough, these long queues of passengers could not be avoided due to many factors, foremost of which is the recent transfer of several airlines from NAIA 1 to NAIA 3 that resulted from the impending shutdown of international flight operations at NAIA 2,” Tansingco said.
Tansingco disclosed that the recent transfer to NAIA 3 of China Southern Airlines, Gulf Air, Jeju Air, Thai Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Jetstar, Starlux, and Scoot has caused a 10-percent increase in the average number of passengers who depart from NAIA 3 daily.
The commissioner also attributed the congestion problem at NAIA 3 to other factors, such as limited space, flight delays and diversions caused by bad weather, and the frequent declaration of lighting alerts that result in the simultaneous disembarkation of passengers from affected flights.
“We are constantly coordinating our efforts with the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) in seeking the best solution to address this perennial problem of overcrowding in our immigration areas at the NAIA. Among these are the installation of additional BI counters and expanding the space of our departure area,” the BI chief added.
He reiterated that the BI has already addressed its previous problem of manpower shortage in light of the continuous hiring by the bureau of new immigration inspectors.
“In fact, due to the augmentation of our manpower, we have granted the request of our airport terminal heads outside Metro Manila, such as those in Clark, Mactan, and Davao, by reassigning immigration officers to their turfs,” Tansingco said.
He said 99 immigration officers will be reassigned to NAIA 1 and 3 on June 16, when NAIA 2 is scheduled to stop servicing international flights.
Meanwhile, instances of offloading are still rampant, with legitimate Filipino travelers reportedly being offloaded and barred from boarding their flights by immigration officers.
As of this posting the MIAA has yet to comment on the alleged perennial problem of overcrowding in the immigration areas and the needs of the installation of additional immigration counters to address the problem.