Press Release - Nancy hopes DOTr ready to avert repeat of holiday meltdown

Traveling home for Christmas, New Year

Sen. Nancy Binay today reminded transport authorities to make sure that those who will be traveling for the holiday will no longer be confronted with unpleasant and frustrating experiences brought by technical and operational glitches in airports, seaports, and public terminals.

According to Binay, she expects the Department of Transportation will put its best foot forward to guarantee that the power outages and technical glitches that crippled aviation and airport operations last January 1 and May 1 this year would not happen again.

"I am positive that the DOTr has already made concrete steps to prevent any operational disruptions during this Christmas travel peak. Sana self-aware na ang ating mga opisyal ng DOTr dahil ayaw na rin nating maulit muli yung nangyaring 'di magandang experience ng mga kababayan nating byahero nitong taon," she pointed out.

It can be recalled that in January and May this year, power outages at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal grounded and cancelled over 600 flights and left tens of thousands of passengers stranded.

"Hindi lamang po sa airports ang ating bantayan. Kailangan din po nating tutukan ang mga pantalan at mga pampasaherong barko, mga bus sa public terminals, at iba pang mga mode of transportation--tiyak na magdadagsaan ang mga magbabakasyon para makahabol sa pasko't bagong taon," Binay added.

Seaports and bus terminals usually face holiday chaos as thousands scramble home for Christmas and New Year.

"Ang punto po natin ay maging maayos at matiwasay ang pagbabyahe ng mga kababayan nating uuwi sa kani-kanilang probinsya without also compromising safety and security. Inaasahan po natin na lahat ng mga barkong maglalayag ay sea-worthy at walang overbooking. Even in our bus terminals, there should be a simplified system for passengers to have a convenient way through security screenings," she said.

Binay likewise appealed to travelers to cooperate with security personnel when passing through the usual screening process, and prepare for reasonable delays in schedule as almost all points of entry/exit are expected to be swarmed with people and cargoes.

"Hindi naman ito bago sa