Iloilo airport exec reminds fliers to mind their baggage

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

One of the top officials of the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan on Friday, Oct. 3, reiterated their regular reminder to passengers to be responsible with their baggage whether departing from or arriving at the terminal.

Airport Terminal Supervisor Arthur Parreño said passengers should pack their own baggage and refrain from bringing items they did not pack or that do not belong to them.

This is in line with the airport’s new security scheme to be implemented starting Oct. 10 as part of the removal of X-ray baggage and body scanning machines at the entrance of the passenger terminal building.

The removal of the machines was directed by acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez to ease passenger lines at the terminal entrance.

One of the baggage scanners that was recently installed will be moved to the “back of the house” for screening luggage checked in with the airlines.

Parreño said a passenger’s attention will be called through the public address system and they will be instructed to open their baggage themselves.

He noted this may draw unwanted attention and consume time that passengers need to prepare for boarding.

“In this new implementation, if the [checked-in baggage] is already at the back of the house, and the passenger is already [at the pre-departure area] at the third floor and something was seen as a security-restricted item, then [the passenger’s] attention will be called,” Parreño told Daily Guardian on Air on Friday.

“So, they would have to go down to open and check their baggage, so that would be a hassle for him, for example, the plane would have to depart, and their baggage may have to be left behind, that would be a lesson learned to the flying public,” he added.

Regarding hand-carried baggage, the final security check will remain in place with scanners positioned before the pre-departure area and prohibited items will be confiscated.

As part of the new security scheme, plainclothes officers and K-9 units will roam the terminal building to ensure only passengers and authorized personnel are inside.

It will involve personnel from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Security and Intelligence Service, the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group and the Aviation Security Unit.

Parreño acknowledged that developing and implementing the scheme was a “tough challenge” for security personnel.

“That is also a very tough challenge on the part of airport security […] to come up with a security scheme to profile [those] pretending to be passengers but have a different agenda,” he said.

EXPANSION

The Iloilo International Airport caters flights to domestic destinations such as Manila, Cebu, Clark, Davao, Dumaguete, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, General Santos and Zamboanga, as well as international routes to Bangkok–Don Mueang, Hong Kong and Singapore.

CAAP Assistant Director General for Aerodrome Development and Management Service Valentin Dionela recently announced a new PHP 707 million passenger terminal building connected to the existing one.

Parreño said the new terminal will cater to international flights and will be located at the present site of the current terminal’s chillers near the airport tower.

The CAAP also installed new gang chairs at the current pre-departure area, increasing capacity by about 200 passengers.