MANILA - With only three days before Christmas, travelers going abroad have been urged to be at the airport early as health measures are strictly being implemented at the facility, aside from other travel protocols.

In a statement Wednesday, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente advised travelers to go to the airport hours before their scheduled departure flights to ensure that they have ample time to check-in at their airlines and ensure physical distancing at the immigration area.

Local airlines suggest that travelers start the check-in process three to four hours prior to their scheduled flight.

Morente reported that in the past few days there has been a steady increase in the number of international travelers departing from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the airports in Mactan, Cebu, and Clark, Pampanga with the onset of the Christmas season.

"While there are significantly less travelers this year because of the pandemic, there could still be congestion for late passengers rushing during boarding time," the BI chief added.

Morente said due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, airlines would need to conduct additional checks to ensure compliance with travel restrictions of different countries of destination.

He also reminded departing passengers to make sure that they possess complete travel requirements, as well as the added travel requirements by different countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, Morente said immigration officers have been instructed to be more vigilant in screening passengers as human traffickers and illegal recruiters could take advantage of the holiday rush to spirit their victims out of the country.

"Our immigration officers are always on the lookout for suspected human trafficking and illegal recruitment victims," he said.

"Despite the holiday rush, we will ensure that our kababayans are protected from these predators, and we will turn over any victims to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for filing of cases against their recruiters," Morente added. (PNA)