NAIA security personnel won't touch passports anymore during terminal entry, security screening
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport said all of its security personnel will no longer touch passports during terminal entry and security verification—following the incident of a passenger being denied boarding due to a slightly damaged passport.
"To better protect your travel documents and reduce unnecessary contact, all NAIA security personnel have been instructed not to touch passports during terminal entry and security verification," NAIA said in an advisory.
Instead, passengers will simply be asked to show their valid ID or travel document, which they'd hold up themselves.
Last April 22, Facebook user Diana Natividad, in a viral post, detailed their encounter with a Cebu Pacific ground staff for their supposed family trip to Bali in Indonesia on April 15.
Natividad said that after arriving at the airport, they went straight ahead to pay the travel tax and had no issues with their passport.
Things took a turn when a ground staff member at the check-in counter noticed a slight tear in the spine of her father's passport.
The airport ground staff took photos of the passport and asked them to wait since she needed to send the passport photos to the immigration in Bali to verify its validity.
They were able to secure her father's boarding pass at a different counter and were cleared by immigration.
But they were still denied entry at the boarding gate despite assurances from an immigration staff member and a Cebu Pacific supervisor that the passport remains valid despite the tear.
In the same statement, the airport said the incident took place at an airline check-in counter at NAIA Terminal 3. It noted, however, that there has been no report of any mishandling involving its security personnel.
"As the airport operator, and in the spirit of teamwork with all stakeholders, we continue to take proactive measures to ensure the safety and security of all passengers," it said, adding that it's working closely with the Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Immigration "to strengthen procedures and make sure incidents like this do not happen again."
