MANILA, Philippines — AS international travel gets better, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) expects to see a huge volume of passengers that could reach over 110,000 arrivals and departures during the holiday season.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said that the number of Christmas weekend arrivals was at an average of more than 53,000 while departures had an average of 43,000.
“We are expecting the numbers to further increase this year, exceeding pre-pandemic numbers,” he said.
Prior to the pandemic, the BI saw an average of 55,000 daily arrivals in December. It recorded an average of 47,000 departures in December 2019.
Viado assured the traveling public that preparations have been made to ensure smooth operations during the holiday season.
“We have ramped up our operations at major international airports, with additional personnel to maintain a smooth flow of passengers,” he said. “Our team is closely monitoring our operations.”
In addition to the new officers, the BI deployed personnel from its main office to support airport operations.
The bureau also activated its rapid response teams and deployed mobile counters to ensure efficient processing during the peak season.
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