By Lane Afable, News Editor
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said that there still high volume of travelers in the next few weeks despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East (ME).
According to Viado, figures remain high despite airport and flight disruptions caused by the conflict, noting that Bureau of Immigration (BI) frontliners processed a total of 782,344 passengers at all international ports of entry during the peak week.
Records show that BI processed a total of 391,243 arrivals and 391,101 departures in the country’s international airports from March 29 to April 5, which is almost the same as the 371,731 arrivals and 361,361 departures processed during the Holy Week last year.
The BI said that during the 1st quarter of 2026, the BI processed a total of 4,218,683 arrivals and 4,521,001 departures, versus 3,871,492 arrivals and 4,196,492 departures during the same period last year.
The figures, Viado said, reflect little change in numbers, stating that most flights are pre-booked months before the conflict started.
He adds, however, that travel to and from ME countries significantly dropped during the 1st quarter to around 80%.
Viado said that they hope that the easing of tensions in conflict-ridden areas would allow passenger volumes to increase again.
