No mandatory masking at NAIA amid FLiRT COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — Employees at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) are wearing face masks as a precautionary measure against the reported FLiRT variants of COVID-19 in other countries.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) and Bureau of Customs (BOC), however, said that masking at the NAIA remains optional.

Personnel of the BI, BOC and Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) serve as frontliners in screening foreign travelers and local passengers at the airport.

Using thermal scanners, the BOQ has intensified the monitoring of passengers from countries where the new COVID variants have been detected.

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Eric Ines has ordered housekeeping service providers to thoroughly disinfect check-in counters, immigration countertops and the plastic trays used in screening passengers’ luggage.

Food concessionaires were also reminded to disinfect their respective areas to prevent the spread of the COVID virus.