‘Leave three to four hours to avoid missing your flight’

DEPENDING on where they live or stay, airline passengers should leave three to four hours ahead of schedule so they can catch their flights.

Estee Marie Plunket, head of corporate affairs of GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), said they have recorded instances of several passengers who were late for their flights yesterday.

“We implore passengers to mind the time so that they won’t have to go through missing their flights. We already have some inconvenienced passengers due to the traffic,” she told Cebu Daily News.

“It is not the passengers’ or the airlines’ fault, but they really just have to be proactive,” Plunket said.

MCIA also issued a statement saying that they were working with both transport services to maximize transport options.

“We are also working with taxi services and SM MyBus to maximize transport options and would once again ask the traveling public to make allowances for the inevitable traffic delays due to the partial bridge closure,” it added.

Plunket said they met with several government agencies, including the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), yesterday afternoon for interim solutions to the traffic problem.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs said it was willing to adjust the time required for releasing shipments and containers as needed.

Newly appointed Bureau of Customs (BOC) Cebu district collector Rico Rey Francis “Koko” Holganza said they were in touch with business groups, including the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), shipping lines, and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to come out with solutions.

However, 24/7 operations, as suggested by the business sector, may not be possible to do.

As a concession, the agency extended its operations from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. starting January  21.

“We’re also trying to maximize the efficiency of our own workers,” the official said.

“I am willing to adjust if the need arises. I just don’t want to assign workers 24/7 if it is not needed.”

Based on reports, the bulk of releases for the containers is between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.

While Customs still has several releases after 10 p.m., Holganza said these are only minimal.

He said on many occasions, they had little to no releases after the late hour.

Holganza said he told the business groups that Customs is willing to extend operation time if they request people to render overtime.