Domestic airlines ordered to use aerobridges at airports

MANILA, Philippines—Citing passengers’ convenience and safety, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) ordered all Philippine domestic commercial carriers on Thursday to use aerobridges, if they are available, at the country’s various airports.

The order was contained in a memorandum to all airport managers and a cease-and-desist order issued to the airlines by Capt. John Andrews, CAAP deputy director-general, on the authority of Director-General William Hotchkiss III.

The CAAP, in a statement, said many domestic carriers have been refusing to use aerobridges at airports so as to avoid paying fees, and thus putting passengers at risk and exposing them to the elements, especially during bad weather.

“This Authority has determined that the use of aerobridges is not only for the convenience of airline passengers but, more importantly, [for the] promotion of aviation safety and security,” Andrews said.

An aerobridge—also called an airbridge, jet bridge, jetway or passenger walkway—is an enclosed, movable connector extending from an airport’s terminal gate to an airplane, allowing passengers to board and disembark without having to go outdoors.

The CAAP memo directed airlines to “cease and desist” from implementing any and all corporate policy geared toward evading or avoiding the use of aerobridges.

Andrews said each recorded violation of the order, or the deliberate refusal of air carrier personnel to use an aerobridge whenever one is declared available for use, shall be penalized with a P50,000 fine in accordance with Section 82 of Republic Act No.9497 or the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008.