ON Sunday, March 16, 2025, Brittany S., a relative, went to the NAIA Terminal 1 departure area to catch her flight back to Seattle, USA, along with her husband.
They arrived at the airport around 9 a.m. to check in for their 12:30 p.m. departure via Korean Air flight KE-622, SkyTeam Elite Plus. The flight included a layover in Seoul/Incheon before continuing to the US.
As in any connecting flights, they were supposed to be issued two boarding passes each– one from Manila to Korea and another from Korea to Seattle.
However, here’s what happened. Brittany was issued two boarding passes indeed, but they were both from Manila to Korea.
Fortunately, before entering the immigration, a lady guard of the Lanting Security Agency identified as Jenny Rose Uton who was then assigned at the gate, double-checked their travel documents.
It was then that lady guard Uton noticed that two same boarding passes were issued to my relative.
Trusting that the airline counter knew what it was doing and due to haste for fear of long lines at the immigration, our relative no longer checked the boarding passes issued to them and went straight to the immigration gate.
Because of the erroneous boarding passes, my relative had to go back all the way to the counter to have her boarding pass corrected.
What if that slipped the scrutiny of the lady guard? Wouldn’t it have posed a hassle for my relative upon reaching Korea?
Such carelessness or negligence caused stress on the part of the passenger concerned, having to go through the hassle of going back to have their boarding passes corrected while worrying about the possibility of facing long lines, whether justified or not.
Besides, situations like this bring to naught the efforts of the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) to bring back NAIA on its feet as among the best airports in the world.
While I frown at the lack of sufficient care on the part of the airline concerned which is manned by fellow Pinoys, I commend lady guard Uton for doing her job well and as such congratulate the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) headed by Geral Manager Eric Ines for having security personnel like Uton.
Another lady guard worth commending is lady guard Rhea Taysa, who returned a bag she found containing over P146,000 worth of cash and valuables at the Laoag International Airport (LIA) last March 19, 2025.
The bag was returned by Taysa to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) for verification and safekeeping. It was subsequently retrieved by the rightful owner, a 79-year old American woman who thanked the guard profusely.
A word of advice to passengers taking the Korean Air flight from Manila. Make sure you check your boarding passes well. You can never be sure.
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