The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it is ready for the opening of new international airports in the airports of Kalibo and Caticlan in Aklan, where several flights bound for and from Taiwan will be opened in December.
According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, he already instructed the Bureau’s Port Operations Division (POD) to ensure that adequate personnel are deployed to the two airports to address the increased volume of passengers resulting from the new flights.
Tansingco said that the inaugural flight from Caticlan to Taipei by Royal Air is scheduled on December 13.
“It will also mark the first time BI will launch its operations at the new Caticlan airport,” he added.
Meanwhile, the BI Chief said Tiger Air will be launching its Kalibo-Taipei-Kalibo flights on December 29. Initially, Tiger Air plans to mount four flights to Taipei every week.
Tansingco said the BI anticipates a continuing increase in international passenger volume in all of the international ports next year when a further easing in Covid-19 travel restrictions is expected.
Lawyer Carlos Capulong, BI-POD Acting Chief, bared that passenger arrivals in the different airports are now averaging at between 25,000 to 27,000 a day in the past several days.
BI braces for opening of new int’l flights in Aklan
Capulong said the statistics are a far cry from the daily average of 5,000 passenger arrivals when the country re-opened its borders to foreign tourists in March last year.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) conducted its three-day strategic activity from November 22-24 at the Bayview Park Hotel in Manila.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, together with OIC Deputy Commissioners Ronaldo Ledesma and Rogelio Gevero, Jr., led the planning activity with key officials of the BI.
During the event, the different division heads presented the status and assessment of their current programs, activities and projects (PAPs) and proposed PAPs for the next three years.
Among the highlights of the plans are the modernization and automation of all immigration-related transactions, starting with tourist visa extensions, online visa waiver applications, and e-payments on January 2023.
“Through this activity, we are able to see the baseline, and assess where we are now,” said Tansingco. “Strategic planning would allow us to lay down what to expect from the Bureau in the next few years,” he added.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.