Crowded terminals, heavy traffic mark last Friday before Christmas

As expected, airports, seaports, bus terminals, and expressways were heavily crowded on the last Friday before Christmas as crowds troop to the provinces and vacation spots to spend the holiday.

At the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), passengers formed long lines to book their trips on Friday morning, according to Bam Alegre's report on GMA News’ Unang Balita.

The Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (i-ACT) advised passengers to book their trips only at the ticketing booths in the terminal and discourage them from patronizing colorum vehicles.

NLEX

At the North Luzon Expressway, there were already lines of vehicles on the cash lanes at the Balintawak Toll Plaza as early as 4 a.m., according to James Agustin's report.

The long lines were observed even if the number of cash lanes was increased from three to six.

Unlike on cash lanes, the flow of vehicles on radio-frequency identification (RFID) lanes was fast and smooth.

Interviewed on Unang Balita, NLEX traffic operations department head Robin Ignacio said the volume of vehicles at the Balintawak and Mindanao Avenue toll plazas has been heavy since Thursday afternoon.

“Kahapon nga, actually naramdaman o na-monitor natin na meron nang pagbugso ng ating traffic [Yesterday, we already monitored a sudden heavy traffic],” he said.

Ignacio said they are expecting the volume of vehicles to peak from Friday afternoon to evening. It would continue from 6 a.m. to 12 noon on Christmas Eve on Saturday, he said.

The NLEX doubled the deployment of patrol groups and traffic marshals on the expressway. Free towing to the nearest exit is also offered to motorists with Class 1 vehicles from December 23 to 26 and January 1 to 3.

SLEX

Meanwhile, at the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), its management said heavier traffic is expected to start around 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Friday, according to Darlene Cay's report.

At the Santo Tomas area near an exit from SLEX, there is already a 400-meter buildup of vehicles as of the time of the report.

Airports

A huge crowd of passengers was also monitored st the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, according to a report by Jonathan Andal.

However, there was no line outside the departure area because the X-ray screening upon  entrance of Terminal 3 was already removed.

At the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, 200 domestic flights and 30 international flights were recorded daily, according to a report by GMA Regional TV Balitang Bisdak’s Nikko Sereno.

The number of passengers is expected to increase as Christmas Day approaches.

At the Davao International Airport, the volume of passengers also increased, according to a report of GMA Regional TV One Mindanao’s Rgil Relator.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Davao area manager Rex Obcena said that there has been a 20% increase in arrivals from 5,000 to 6,000 since December 15.

CAAP Davao said 11,000 to 12,000 passengers are being recorded daily in the airport, with around 40 international and domestic flights every day.

Ports

Meanwhile at the Batangas Port, the volume of passengers was also increasing, according to a report of GMA Regional TV Balitang Southern Tagalog’s Paul Hernandez.

Around 15,000 to 20,000 were monitored in the ports, which is expected to further increase on Christmas Eve on Saturday. Most of the booked trips were heading to Mindoro, Romblon, and Visayas areas.

Philippine Ports Authority - Port Management Office Batangas  port manager Joselito Sinocruz said they are working to ensure that there are enough trips that would accommodate the influx of passengers.

“Inaasikaso na natin ngayon na yung biyahe ng barko, dapat magtuloy-tuloy kasi kahit anong laki ng ating pier, ng ating pantalan, kung walang bibiyaheng barko ay talagang mapupuno tayo,” he said.

(We are now working on ensuring that trips are continuous because no matter how big our port is, if there are no ships, we will be congested.)

According to him, the operation in Batangas Port is at its pre-pandemic level. —KBK, GMA Integrated News