AT LEAST 500 immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 will be transferred to Naia Terminal 1 and 3 after the government decided to use the Naia Terminal 2 for domestic flights only.
Bureau of Immigration port operations division chief Marc Red Mariñas said the bureau was preparing an operational plan to be put in place on Aug. 31 when the new scheme is implemented.
Mariñas said more than half of the 500 BI personnel assigned at the Naia would be assigned to Terminal 3 where the bulk of international flights would be serviced.
The rest will be deployed to Terminal 1.
Under the plan, Naia Terminals 1 and 3 would be used for international flights while Terminals 2 and 4 would be for domestic flights.
Mariñas also said some 20 unused immigration booths at Naia 3’s arrival area would finally become operational, thus preventing long queues that have always caused inconvenience to travelers.
“We also plan to install 70 additional work stations at Terminal 3 in anticipation of a sharp increase in passenger volume,” he said adding, “our present departure area, which is very small, will also be expanded to accommodate more immigration booths that will cater to departing travelers.”
For his part, BI Commissioner Jaime Morenet said he fully supported the rationalization plan of the MIAA to improve air traffic and lessen congestion in the country’s premiere international gateway.
Morente said the rationalization scheme proposed by the MIAA would help further improve the bureau’s services to the traveling public.
“We are confident that with this scheme our immigration officers will be able to more efficiently perform their jobs of conducting immigration formalities for international travelers,” Morente said.
The BI chief observed that as a result of the scheme “it will then be easier for us to determine how to deploy our personnel to the airport based on the needs of each of the two Naia terminals.”
At present, Naia 2 is exclusively being used by the Philippine Airlines, both for its international and domestic flights, while Cebu Pacific uses Naia Terminal 3, also for its international and domestic flights.
MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal confirmed that the Naia 2 and Naia 4 would be used purely for domestic flights, while Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 would be purely for international flights.
The MIAA has embarked on a P600-million renovation of the Naia Terminal 2, as part of its plan to decongest air traffic at the country’s main gateway.
Once the rehabilitation of Naia 2 is completed, the Terminal 2 can accommodate more than12-million passengers annually.
MIAA said that only five airlines would be left at Terminal 1 while 19 other airlines would relocate to Terminal 3.
