Solon eyes NAIA-3 for SARS ‘flights’

An administration lawmaker proposed yesterday the use of newly built Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) to serve inbound flights from countries stricken by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles said the NAIA-3 terminal is better equipped in terms of surveillance and better facilities for quarantine purposes.

"The new airport has surveillance cameras which can be used to monitor potential carriers of the SARS virus and it has enough holding rooms for quarantine and medical check-ups," Nograles said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Edgar Manda announced that all travelers showing signs of fever will no longer be allowed to fly out of the country.

Manda emphasized that there will no exceptions to the flight ban for passengers with fever — one of the primary symptoms indicating a person might be afflicted with SARS.

"This early, we would like to apologize for whatever inconvenience this extra precaution against SARS might give to passenger or to their loved ones," he said.

"We appeal to their understanding that we just want to help ensure the safety of everybody against SARS in our airports," Manda said.

He said all outbound passengers at both NAIA and the Manila Domestic Airport will undergo a body temperature check.

He said SARS monitoring teams will be deployed in both airports.

In a letter to The STAR, airport public affairs officer Judith Dolot clarified that the airport authorities studied all possible options when they decided to isolate all the passengers and crew of Philippine Airlines Flight PR 416 which was bound for Busan, South Korea.

She also stressed that Manda was physically present at the airport to make sure that the situation was handled properly.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has joined the national alert by deploying military medical teams at the airports to help detect possible SARS carriers.

AFP spokesman Col. Daniel Lucero said the military doctors and nurses will be deployed starting Monday on a weekly rotation basis for a period of six months at the NAIA.

"SARS is a different kind of war, something that needs to be fought and won over. Whether apprehensive or not, they will have to do their own duty to protect our people against this personal security threat," Lucero said.

Policemen have also been deployed to enforce quarantine and security measures at NAIA and in Alcala, Pangasinan, where two SARS fatalities used to live.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), for its part, said the policemen deployed to anti-SARS duty were amply provided with surgical masks and other medical gear to protect them from contracting the disease.

On the other hand, Nograles said the NAIA-3 terminal can now be put to good use amid the SARS outbreak.

He proposed that NAIA Terminals 1 and 2 should be be used to accommodate both inbound and outbound flights servicing countries considered SARS-fee.

He said NAIA 3 can be used alternatively to service passengers from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada, or countries identified to have been stricken with SARS.

"This way, we will not only isolate the people but we will isolate the planes themselves. Hindi halo-halo gaya ng nangyayari ngayon (not like mixing them up adding to the confusion of determining who are the probable SARS carriers or not)," Nograles pointed out. –Jaime Laude