Airport operations disrupted by swarm of bees

Philippine Airlines planes are parked at the tarmac of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A swarm of bees affected the operations and delayed some flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2, Thursday afternoon.

Some airport workers, including wheelchair attendant Rodolfo Gabriel, were reportedly stung by the bees.

According to Andrew Balde, assistant Terminal 2 manager, airport employees were surprised when bees suddenly swarmed the control panels of at least five aerobridges at Gates 32 to 38 around 1 p.m., preventing controllers from attaching the movable walkways to arriving airplanes.

The gates were immediately closed by the authorities, saying the incident posed danger to both passengers and airport workers.

Arriving and departing passengers at that time were made to use the service stairs down the ramp. Airport buses were also used to ferry the arriving passengers to the baggage claim area.

Balde said the incident prevented aerobridge operators from getting near the control booth for fear that they would get stung.

He added that maintenance workers then immediately cleared the bees using vacuum cleaners. It took about half an hour for maintenance workers to clear all the bees from the boarding bridges.

Some flights were also slightly delayed as a result of the incident, Balde said, but added that operations at the terminal went back to normal as soon as the boarding bridges were cleared of the insects.

He also said that they have deployed pest control experts who started the fumigation process.

Balde as well as some seasoned employees at the NAIA Terminal 2 claimed it was the first time that a swarm of bees attacked the airport.

“This is the first time it happened. Usually, there were bird strikes,” Balde told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He added that they have not found any beehive in the area.

There were several instances in the past when bird strike incidents happened in NAIA, causing damage in aircrafts and delays in flights.

“There were no beehives. And besides we regularly conduct cleaning and fumigation. We suspect the bees came from nearby areas since the bridge to which the planes connect is open,” he said.

Some airport workers believe that the bees could have possibly been taken to Manila by a passenger and had escaped from a cage.

“But how can that be when at least five aerobridges were affected? That would have been possible if the bees were found in only one boarding bridge,” countered one employee.