Bong Go urges transport officials: Develop better, stronger airport management system including contingency plans
In anticipation of the influx of passengers this Holy Week, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go renewed his appeal for transport authorities to develop a better and stronger airport management system, including contingency plans to prevent a repeat of the New Year’s Day fiasco.
Go said the previous systems glitch which occurred last January 1, that inconvenienced thousands of passengers and diverted a hundred flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) should not happen again.
The senator said the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) should be able to check whatever equipment must be needed to prevent another possibility of a shutdown.
“Isipin natin na nakasalalay po ang buhay ng mga pasahero na nasa ere kung sakaling lumipad na po sila at sabay-sabay pong magkaroon ng aberya ang ating traffic control, maaberya po ang eroplano (Let's imagine that the lives of the passengers in the air depend on it if they take off and our traffic control malfunctions at the same time, the plane will also malfunction),” Go warned in a statement on April 3.
Nasa panganib po ang buhay ng ating mga kababayan, mga pasahero (The lives of our countrymen, passengers, are in danger),” he pointed out.
At the same time, Go also urged authorities to address the congestion issues at the airports.
Likewise, the lawmaker advised Filipinos to arrive at the airport earlier before their scheduled flights to avoid any inconvenience or delay that may happen during the check-in and security process.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) earlier also released a similar statement where they urged passengers, especially those flying abroad, to be at least two to four hours ahead of their scheduled flight.
Transport officials are anticipating that at least 20,000 passengers will be flying during the Holy Week.