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| The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines' (CAAP) 42 commercially operating airports are on high alert for the holiday season. |
The 42 commercially-operating airports of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) are on high alert in preparation for the anticipated increase in air passengers during the Christmas and New Year holiday season.
CAAP has coordinated with airline operators and airport-related government agencies, such as the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEGROUP) and the Office of Transportation Security (OTS), to augment additional personnel in preparation for an increase in passenger traffic during the holiday season.
Travelers are reminded not to bring any prohibited items to the airport and to keep all belongings in their carry-on luggage to expedite screening checkpoint processing.
In CAAP airports with commercial flights, additional security measures and the deployment of service and security personnel are being observed to ensure safe, dependable, and convenient airport operations as civilians, returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs), and tourists travel for the holiday season.
Due to travel bans imposed by COVID-19 in the previous two years, CAAP-operated airports reported this year's trends of pent-up tourism demand.
CAAP airports welcomed a total of 29,258,258 passengers from January to December 2019, with 2,537,774 passengers traveling in December.
In 2020, there was a significant decrease, with only 6,659,113 passengers traveling from January to December 2020 and 245,141 passengers traveling in December 2020.
In December of last year, 1,007,842 passengers were recorded; from January to December of 2021, 5,136,075 passengers were recorded.
From January to October this year alone, approximately 16 million passengers have traveled through CAAP airports, with even more expected to travel during the holiday season.
Based on pre-pandemic historical data, an annual increase of 7-10% in the number of passengers is expected. With the current easing of travel restrictions, CAAP is optimistically preparing for a surge in travel demand.