MANILA: Senator Raffy Tulfo is pushing for an ‘urgent” Senate investigation into the problems besetting the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after receiving complaints of long passenger lines and persistent malfunctioning of electronic gates.
Tulfo filed Senate Resolution No. 1069 to investigate into the issues hounding the country’s international and domestic airports and on the operations of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), and provide necessary recommendations for modernization.
Tulfo said airport e-gates scanners for arriving passengers often fail to read passport and boarding pass, forcing passengers to queue for manual processing instead.
Due to the delays, some passengers are unable to catch their flights, including connecting flights.
‘[T]ravelers are the ones carrying the burden of the inconvenience as they had to spend extra money to re-book their tickets and stay extra hours at the airports lobby, even when they are not the ones at fault,’ he said.
‘[A]dd to the burden of t
he passengers, a number of escalators, walkalators, carousels, and tubes were either poorly operating or non-operational at all,’ he added.
Tulfo said the experience is similar for departing passengers who were not able to board their international flights due to prolonged immigration screenings.
Amid these issues, Tulfo said the situation and operational procedures must be evaluated to identify potential areas for improvement and ensure that international aviation standards are met.
Meanwhile, he urged airport authorities to post signages at the airports’ arrival and departure areas informing passengers of their rights in cases of missed flights due to immigration lines and other boarding problems.
Source: Philippines News Agency
