A glimpse on the interior of the MCIA. | MCIA photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Authorities from the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) will be introducing a new policy as it prepares for the ‘new normal’.
GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) in a statement issued to the media on Thursday, May 14, announced that each passenger should only have one companion to assist them in the airport.
Andrew Acquaah-Harrison, GMCAC chief executive advisor, was quoted, asking the public’s cooperation in their request to limit the number of well-wishers for departing passengers.
“This will go a long way in helping us avoid close proximity crowding anywhere on the airport premises,” Harrison stated.
The one-companion-per-passenger rule is among their new set of protocols to be implemented in line with the safety guidelines from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
“GMCAC and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) are implementing stringent preventive health and safety measures at MCIA. This is in preparation for the lifting of travel restrictions and the resumption of flight services in line with airline schedules,” added Harrison.
These include the mandatory wearing of surgical or face masks for passengers, guests, airport and airline workers, temperature checks, and disinfection before accessing airport premises.
GMCAC also stated that airport rules under the ‘new normal’ will require several social or physical distancing measures such as contactless assistance between passengers and on-ground grew.
“Required social distancing of three to six feet in queueing points and one-seat-apart policy in waiting areas will be implemented. There will be visible floor markings to guide the passengers while queueing at high traffic areas such as entry gates, ticketing booths, check-in counters, F&B and retail stores, boarding gates, escalators, and stairs,” the group said.
They added that the use of elevators within the airport compound will be regulated.
Meanwhile, medical isolation rooms, which have been in place ‘since the onset of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak, will continue to be used as a medical isolation room where personnel from the Bureau of Quarantine can conduct quarantine assessment’.
As several provinces in the country relax their enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and set to transition to general community quarantine (GCQ), operations of passenger airlines are expected to resume anytime soon.
However, the three Philippine carriers announced that their respective domestic and international flights remain canceled until May 31, 2020. / dbs
READ MORE: Cebu Pacific, Cebgo, AirAsia flights still canceled until May 31