BI hopeful for international travel amid Middle East tensions

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday said it is optimistic that the high volume of international passengers will be sustained in the next few weeks amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

In a statement, BI commissioner Joel Anthony Viado noted that figures for inbound and outbound passengers remain high despite flight disruptions caused by the conflict in the Gulf region.

He said BI frontliners processed a total of 782,344 passengers at all international ports of entry during the peak week.

From March 29 to April 5, immigration officers processed 391,243 arrivals and 391,101 departures across the country’s international airports.

This is almost the same as the 371,731 arrivals and 361,361 departures processed during the Holy Week observance in 2025.

In the first quarter of 2026, the BI processed 4,218,683 arrivals and 4,521,001 departures – higher than the 3,871,492 arrivals and 4,196,492 departures during the same period last year.

The BI said the figures “reflect little change in numbers” and that most flights are pre-booked months before the conflict in the Middle East broke out on February 28.

However, Viado noted that travel to and from Middle Eastern countries significantly dropped.

He added that they hope that the easing of tensions in conflict-hit areas will eventually lead to an increase in passenger volumes for destinations in the Gulf region. — JMA, GMA News