THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has recorded a midyear surge in international travel, with over a million departures recorded for June.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco disclosed on Sunday that the bureau recorded 1,072,651 travelers in June, adding that the trend would continue in July.
In April, 946,092 departed via the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals; in May, there were 979,720 departures.
PEAK SEASON Travelers queue at the NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City on July 4, 2023. The immigration bureau has reported an increase in the number of passengers as July is deemed peak travel season. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
Tansingco attributed the rise in the number of travelers to class breaks, allowing families to have their vacations abroad.
“Revenge travel is real and is still very much evident. After the pandemic, a lot of people are itching to travel,” said Tansingco. “After the end of classes, a lot of families saw the opportunity to take their vacations,” he added.
Also, he said that the school calendar this year had been shortened to 165 days from the usual 180 days last year after the Department of Education scheduled the start of classes for school year 2024-2025 on July 29 as part of its gradual revert to the old academic calendar.
Tansingco said the June-July period was the new peak season for international travel due to school breaks.
“In April, we only saw an average of around 32,000 passengers a day, but in June, that number rose to around 36,000,” Tansingco said.
Amid the surge in international travel, Tansingco assured the traveling public that the BI was well-prepared to manage the situation effectively.
“We are assuring [travelers] that all our counters are fully manned, and our officers are working doubly hard to process everyone in a timely manner,” said Tansingco.
He also advised international travelers to arrive early and check in at least three hours before their flight schedule to give ample time for airport procedures.
He added that he was thankful to the airport management who pledged to expand the immigration area and add more counters for the BI to be able to service more travelers.
Tansingco also shared that 35 new immigration officers recently finished training under the Philippine immigration academy and were set to be deployed to the BI’s frontline offices.
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