Airlines want revamp of customs personnel at Manila airports
MANILA, Philippines—Airline companies want misplaced airport Customs personnel reassigned to revenue-related positions for efficiency, including the customs official who has to give his thumbs-up right outside the aircraft door before the flight crew can open it for passengers to deplane.
‘‘This thumbs-up personnel personifies the need for the Bureau of Customs to review its staffing pattern to improve airport efficiency and put people where they are needed to meet revenue targets,” said lawyer Bayani Agabin, spokesperson for the Board of Airline Representatives.
He said there are Customs personnel at the tarmac who must give their approval before the belly can be opened for the unloading of bags.
There were some situations, he added, when Customs personnel would prevent an engineer or the cleaning crew from boarding a parked aircraft for no valid reason, delaying the turnaround of the flight as a result.
He added that Customs personnel should also be barred from helping themselves to the goods inside the aircraft when they board it purportedly for some kind of inspection.
It is imperative, he pointed out, to review the procedures and responsibilities of airport personnel in light of the Department of Finance order directing airports to implement a 24/7, three-shift operation, dropping the current practice where outside the 8 a.m. to 5 pm single shift, airport Customs charges airlines for overtime, meals and transportation allowance.
“And when four aircraft arrive, they charge four times for the same hour that they were there,” Agabin said.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, as head of the economic cluster, recently ordered a stop to the outdated one-shift practice and go on three shifts 24/7. The order, Agabin said, should apply to all Customs personnel in all international gateways.
