The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it is now ready to handle passengers of international flights bound for Kalibo and Caticlan airports in Aklan.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco has instructed the bureau’s port operations division (POD) to deploy adequate personnel at the two airports to address the increased volume of passengers resulting from the new flights.
The BI chief said the inaugural flight to Caticlan by Royal Air from from Taipei, Taiwain is on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
“It will also mark the first time BI will launch its operations at the new Caticlan airport,” he added.
He said Tiger Air will be launching its Kalibo-Taipei-Kalibo flights on Dec. 29. The airliner plans to mount initially four flights weekly.
Aklan is home to Boracay, a world-famous beach resort known for its pristine white sand.
Tansingco said the BI anticipates increasing arrivals of international passengers with the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions.
POD head Carlos Capulong disclosed that daily passenger arrivals at airports nationwide reached up 27,000 in the past weeks.
Capulong said the number is a far cry from the daily arrivals of only 5,000 when the country re-opened its borders to foreign tourists in March last year.