No new U.S. advisory against Phl airports — DOTr

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) clarified on Sunday night, 6 April, that U.S. officials had not issued any new travel or security advisories against Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) or any other Philippine airport.

This clarification follows the circulation of a social media video that purportedly showed an outdated 2018 travel alert posted at California's Sacramento International Airport.

DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon immediately sent a letter to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requesting the removal of the outdated warning that appeared at the airport.

After consulting with TSA officials in Manila, it was determined that TSA Sacramento might have inadvertently left the previous travel advisory—issued in 2018 but withdrawn in 2019—on the airport monitors.

TSA confirmed that the erroneous information had been taken down at 9:00 a.m. Manila time on Sunday.

"We take these issues very seriously, which is why we contacted TSA officials in Manila right away to ask for clarification. If there was any truth to this, we asked that it be removed immediately to avoid further confusion and anxiety for visitors to the Philippines," Secretary Dizon stated.

Following significant improvements and careful consultation with U.S. authorities, the 2018 travel advisory was withdrawn as early as August 2019. In a formal retraction of its public advice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acknowledged that the Philippines fully complied with international security standards. Since then, no new advisories have been issued against NAIA or any Philippine airport.

In maintaining international aviation standards, the DOTr and the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC), NAIA's private operator, are committed to ensuring the integrity, safety, and security of NAIA and other airports nationwide.