Airlines share guidelines for smooth travel this Holy Week

FILE: Passengers at NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City queue at the check-in counter as it resumes its operation after Air Traffic Management Center of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines experienced a technical issue on Sunday (Jan. 1, 2023) (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

MANILA – Local airlines on Monday shared guidelines and reminders for travelers this Holy Week and the summer season when a huge volume of passengers is expected in airports.

Cebu Pacific spokesperson Carmina Romero said that with the expected influx of passengers, travelers should allot extra time in arriving at the airport for their flights.

Passengers must allot an extra hour, from the usual opening of check-in counters which is two hours for domestic flights and three hours for international flights.

“Counter closes one hour before departure,” Romero said in a public briefing, adding that it would be beneficial to check in online to secure a boarding pass.

Those without check-in baggage and have secured their boarding passes may head straight to the security checkpoint and the boarding gate.

Passengers should proceed to the Immigration area and final security after checking in for their flight.

Others who may get stuck in traffic and are likely to miss their flight are advised to rebook their ticket up to two hours before the flight schedule.

Romero said passengers should also check the traffic situation going to the airport.

CEB has not received many complaints as of Holy Monday.

In case something happens at the airport, there are ground personnel ready to extend assistance.

“We are monitoring. We are prepared to answer passenger concerns, customer concerns as we are expecting a huge volume of passengers,” Romero said.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said the flag carrier currently operates 92 percent of the pre-pandemic number of daily flights.

Prior to the pandemic, PAL was operating an average of 300 flights.

PAL is fully manned and has 40 counters each in the north and south wings of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2.

Villaluna said the airport team, in coordination with concerned agencies, is ready to meet passenger demand this peak season.

She said check-in counters are open five to six hours prior to the flight schedule to minimize the long queues.

Villaluna assured passengers that security measures were enhanced to ensure their baggage is monitored from the point of origin to the point of arrival.

“PAL is working closely with ground handlers and security team to ensure smooth handling of baggage,” she said.

She advised passengers to remain at the airport terminal in case problems with baggage are encountered since they need to fill out the baggage irregularity report.