BI wants aliens denied entry on next flight home

 The Bureau of Immigration (BI) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport will penalize airline companies that fail to send off passengers on the next available flight, as these “excludable passengers” are deemed security risks while staying beyond allowable time limit.

Commissioner Marcelino Libanan made the drastic move upon finding out that five Peruvians who were caught with altered passports stayed at the airport “day room” for five days last week, while a Nigerian citizen stayed in the same room – which is intended only for transit passengers – for six months.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has provided a room with several double-decker beds at the Terminal 1 to accommodate transit passengers for a fee, but airline companies have used this room as temporary lodging for their passengers who were denied entry into the country for various reasons.

However, it turned out that many of these excludable passengers stayed on for days on end since their food and lodging are shouldered by the airline companies.

Libanan has drafted a memorandum addressed to the airline companies following a meeting at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) yesterday.

Present during the meeting, aside from the BI, were representatives from the MIAA, the Airline Operators Council.

As defined by law, the next available flight means that the same airline that brought in the passenger should be the same one that should bring him out of the country, Libanan said.

According to Ferdie Sampol, BI head supervisor at NAIA, airline companies that fail to follow the agreement would have their airplane grounded and prevented from taking off, which would entail additional expenses due to the additional cost of ground-handling.

During the meeting, it was agreed upon that the MIAA would construct a separate “exclusion room” solely for the use of passengers who were denied entry into the country because of questionable travel papers.

Sampol said that it is considered dangerous if the excludable aliens are mixed among regular transiting passengers.

The immigration law also provides that excludable passengers should be given seat priority while being sent out of the country and in case of fully-loaded airplanes, the airline company would have to bump off some passengers to accommodate the erring alien passenger.  – Edu Punay