THE signs are there. When I checked in at NAIA Terminal 2 last week bound for Palawan, I saw very clear signs of a travel chaos that is about to hit air travel very soon.
There are two reasons for this. First the onset of the holiday season coincides with what is called “revenge travel” as people, cooped up to varying degrees in the last 24 months, are acting like newly-paroled inmates who are roaming the world like there was no tomorrow.
Or like they fear being locked up again tomorrow.
The second is the fact that our infrastructure is no longer sufficient to deal with normal (pre-pandemic) levels of travel. How else do you expect it to sufficiently deal with revenge travel? And business has been affected by the pandemic, with many cutting back on resources and therefore finding themselves unprepared to deal with the new hunger to roam. From airlines to restaurants to hotels, businesses are understaffed due to cutbacks in response to slowed business during the pandemic.
‘Traveling this Christmas season? Whether you go by air or land or even by sea, expect chaos.’
Chaos will reign and soon. Already there are signs.
The last time I flew in from abroad, there were long lines of Filipino arrivals waiting to be served by two immigration officers. Only two. To be fair, there were e-kiosks where you could log in your arrival yourself by scanning your boarding pass and passport, but it was a struggle to do, and rather than resulting in a smooth flow of exiting passenger, there, too, was a build-up.
On another occasion, I flew in from Palawan and we had to park at a remote bay. The seat belt light went off, the doors were disarmed and everyone was raring to disembark. The stairs had actually been attached and buses were waiting below but the door remained closed. Why? There was no one from ground crew to knock on the door to signal its opening. And the reason, I was told, is that there was a shortage of such people.
A few days ago there were irate business class passengers also at PAL’s Terminal 2 wondering why the counters were unmanned. The terminal was packed even though it was not even 8 am. And departure gates would be changed. If you were not listening to the PA system every second of your stay (who does?), you’d miss it. There are not enough screens that announce flights and gates in any of our air terminals.
And it’s November yet.
Traveling this Christmas season? Whether you go by air or land or even by sea, expect chaos.
