Heads up, travelers! Security personnel at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) are no longer allowed to touch passengers’ passports, following a report of a traveler being denied boarding due to minor passport damage, such as a small tear.
Photo: When in Manila
In an official statement, NAIA announced that security staff are now prohibited from handling passports during terminal entry and security checks. Instead, passengers will simply be asked to present their valid ID or travel document, which they must hold up themselves.
“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. Passengers will simply be asked to show their valid ID or travel document by holding it up themselves,” NAIA said.
“The recent incident involving a torn passport occurred at an airline check-in counter at NAIA Terminal 3. There has been no report of any mishandling involving NAIA security personnel.”
NAIA assured the public that it will continue to take proactive measures to ensure the safety and security of all passengers.
“We are working closely with our airline partners, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to strengthen procedures and make sure incidents like this do not happen again,” the airport operator added.
On April 22, netizen Diana Natividad shared in a now-viral Facebook post her encounter with Cebu Pacific during a family trip to Bali, Indonesia. She claimed that the airline’s ground staff allegedly barred her 78-year-old father from boarding due to a minor tear in his passport.
The incident occurred at NAIA Terminal 3, where the ground staff at check-in flagged the tear, which the family described as barely noticeable and likely caused by normal wear.
Diana said the airline’s boarding gate staff blocked her father from boarding, even though immigration had confirmed his passport was valid and a boarding pass had already been issued.
“At immigration when my dad had to go back, the officers were shocked. They confirmed again the passport was fine and just showed normal wear. They even called a Cebu Pacific supervisor, who agreed—and radioed the boarding gate to wait, saying a senior citizen was on the way to board and that my father’s passport was ok and valid for takeoff,” she detailed.
“But the boarding gate staff still refused to wait and said the plane was already leaving. Just like that—my father was left behind.”
On the other hand, NAIA emphasized in its statement that there have been no reports of mishandling involving NAIA security personnel.
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