TINIYAK ng Bureau of Immigration (BI) sa mga biyahero sa ibang bansa na gumagamit sa Terminal 3 ng Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) na may sapat silang tauhan na magmando sa lugar, kasunod ng ulat ng overcrowding sa immigration departure area.
Paliwanag ni Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco, may sapat na bilang ng mga immigration officers na nagmamando sa mga booth dahil napaghandaan na nila ito.
“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,” ayon kay Tansingco.
Sinabi pa ng BI chief na ang paglipat ng China Southern Airlines, Gulf Air, Jeju Air, Thai Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Jetstar, Starlux, at Scoot sa NAIA 3 ang nagdulot ng pagdami ng bilang ng mga pasahero sa lugar.
Idinagdag pa ni Tansingco na nakadagdag din dito ang limited space, flight delays at diversions na sanhi ng masamang panahon at pagdedeklara ng lighting alerts na resulta ng pagbabawas ng pasahero sa apektadong 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,” ayon sa BI Chief. “Among these are the installation of additional BI counters and expanding the space of our departure area.”
Ayon kay Tansingco, natugunan na niya ang nabanggit na problema sa patuloy na pagha-hire ng mga bagong 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,” ayon kay Tansingco.