ONLY 3,000 passengers a day can be accommodated at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila starting yesterday (January 12), the Civil Aeronautics Board said.
In an advisory dated January 7 and sent to government offices and Philippine diplomatic posts overseas, CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla said the cap for the number of international passengers arriving at Naia will be capped at a maximum of 3,000 per day effective January 12, 0001H Manila time.
“Airlines operating in Naia that will exceed the allowed capacity will be meted with appropriate penalty,” Arcilla said.
In its Facebook page, The Philippine Embassy in Greece has advised passengers traveling to the Philippines on or after January 12 to reconfirm their seats with their respective airlines to avoid being stranded or inconvenienced at the airport before departure or during transit.
CAB had allowed on November 1, 2021 an increase in the cap on inbound passengers from 3,000 to 4,000 following the gradual decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases and clamor from recruitment and manning agencies as many OFWs want to come home to reunite with their families this Christmas.
Flag-carrier Philippine Airlines said that they rerouted some of their flights bound for Manila to other airports such as Subic and Laoag.
“With the said passenger arrival cap in the Manila hub, we reroute our flights to alternative arrival gateways such as Subic, Laoag, among others if we project that arrivals in Manila will breach the allocation assigned to PAL,” PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna told BusinessMirror.
Airlines are given respective allocations and the 3,000 passenger cap is distributed to other airlines as well.