MMDA: Allot longer travel time to NAIA as ASEAN delegations leave PHL

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said people flying out of the country to allot a longer travel time to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in anticipation of the departure of ASEAN officials and delegations today.

The MMDA said the ASEAN lanes reserved for high-profile attendees of regional meetings may be used again, slowing down the flow of traffic in major thoroughfares.

A report by Bam Alegre on Unang Balita on Wednesday said two Filipina overseas workers have heeded the advice and arrived at the airport three and six hours before their flights to Saudi Arabia and the United States, respectively.

For the two, it was easier to wait out the wee hours of the morning instead of risking not making it to the airport in time for their flights.

Several officials had left the country before the closing ceremony of the regional summits, among them US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Other leaders who have already taken off are Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith had left on Monday to attend to a state visitor in Vientianne.

All these high-profile visitors were escorted by Philippine government officials as they exited the country.

At around 6 a.m. Wednesday, police escorted Cambodian delegations also flying out of the country. —Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/ALG, GMA News