MANILA – The weekend closure of the Philippine capital’s main airport due to a stalled Xiamen Airlines jet was an “eye-opener” for authorities to improve protocols, Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said Wednesday.
Romulo-Puyat said the country was “on track” to meet its tourist arrival targets due to the recent upgrade of air terminals, including the New Mactan Cebu Airport. The Philippines is aiming for 7.4 million visitors this year and 12 million in 2022, she said.
“We need to improve the procedures and protocols and processes. This is actually an eye-opener,” Romulo-Puyat told ANC.
Romulo-Puyat said she was “quite surprised” that tourist arrivals were increasing despite the six-month closure of Boracay.
“We didn’t want this to happen but it happened. We are supporting (Transportation) Sec. (Arthur) Tugade so this does not happen again,” she said.
Aside from the new Mactan airport and plans to revamp the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Romulo-Puyat said some airports recently acquired night capabilities, paving the way for longer operating hours.
“With the improvements of our airports, we will see more foreign tourists coming,” she said.
On Aug. 16, a Xiamen Airlines Boeing 737 overshot the NAIA’s only runway, paralyzing operations for nearly 2 days. At least 200 flights were cancelled.
Philippine authorities are investigating the incident. (ABS-CBN News)
