Stranded Passengers at NAIA Terminal 1: Seeking

Stranded Passengers at NAIA Terminal 1: Seeking | Daily Tribune

The airline companies, the Bureau of Immigration, and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) are currently pointing fingers at one another in the quest of who will provide a place to stay for stranded passengers who are barred from entering the country because of issues in their travel documents.

Since the former chief officials of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) closed the NAIA Terminal 1 Day Room, which serves as a transient for travelers with connecting flights and those who are not permitted to enter the country, most of the denied entry passengers are staying at the NAIA Terminal 1 Pre-Departure lobby and sleeping on the floor using a cardboard or carton.

According to MIAA Head Executive Assistant and Spokesperson Atty. Chris Bendijo, they have already talked with the Bureau of Immigration about whether they want to transfer this kind of passenger from NAIA Terminal 1 to NAIA Terminal 3, where they have a day room. But immigration denies this idea.

"We are currently looking for a location at NAIA Terminal 1 where they may rest comfortably, as they are currently sleeping on the floor using cardboard,” Bendijo said.

BI Deputy Spokesperson Melvin Mabulac said that they immediately turned over the barred passengers to their respective airlines to assist them, and BI officers at NAIA only monitor those passengers if they have already boarded the next available flight back to their port of origin after the exclusion.

The airline companies insist that the government should provide a facility to offer travelers a comfortable place to stay.

The Department of Justice, Refugees, and Stateless ‘Persons Protection Unit asked the MIAA management to allocate a place inside NAIA Terminal 1, which can restore the closed day room after an airline made it a storage facility after building their VIP lounge nearby.

It is known that the government generates an average of PHP 1 million in annual income from the said day room, which is currently shut down due to the decision made by the former head officials of MIAA to close the said day room for transients.

Currently, travelers at NAIA Terminal 1 who have long layovers are forced to lie down on the floor or on gang chairs, especially since they are not allowed to leave the airport terminal.