The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has assured all airport passengers that it is already geared up for the upcoming All Saints Day, or Undas.
According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, there are sufficient personnel deployed in all major international airports to cater to the needs of passengers, adding that personnel were prohibited from taking vacation leave.
Tansingco said the BI anticipates a spike in travel in the coming weeks and expects 4 million arrivals and 3.8 million departures for the entire fourth quarter of 2023.
“We are close to seeing pre-pandemic figures in our arrivals and departures,” said Tansingco.
“We have implemented numerous changes in our systems to cater to the resumption of international travel after the pandemic,” he added.
Moreover, the BI Chief stressed that he had also deployed augmentation teams and had mobile counters available for deployment as needed.
“Given that we have limited space, we have to be creative in our ways to ease the lines,” said Tansingco.
According to BI Chief, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport's (NAIA) passenger volume often rises by an average of 6 to 10% before the pandemic.
Even though lines would be inevitable given that flights carrying numerous passengers arrive and depart simultaneously at the airport, Tnasingco assured that they would be manageable.
Passengers are advised to arrive at the airports at least three hours before the flight.
For passengers' security and safety, BI said that the agency's personnel were placed on heightened alert.
“I have ordered all terminal heads to conduct close monitoring of our operations these coming weeks to ensure smooth processing,” Tansingco noted.
