THE volume of travelers visiting the Philippines surged during the Christmas season, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI). Immigration spokesman Dana Sandoval said on Thursday that based on initial report from the BI Port Operations Division, there were more than 61,000 arrivals at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other major ports on Dec. 23, almost 6,000 higher than the projected 56,000 arrivals. The figure, Sandoval said, was higher by 9,000 than last year’s figure of 52-53,000 for the same period. At the NAIA alone, immigration officers processed 49,176 international arrivals and 61,784 departures on Dec. 23. “Nationwide, total international passenger traffic reached 61,658 arrivals and 66,655 departures,” Sandoval said. While long lines were inevitable, departing and arriving passengers were processed “within the 45 second international standard,” Sandoval said. E-gates were also operational for a much faster processing time of as low as 8 seconds, a huge leap from the 45 seconds per passenger processed manually. A total of 78 e-gates have been installed at NAIA Terminals 1 and 3. At Terminal 1, six e-gates are located at the departure area, and 12 at the arrival area. At Terminal 3, 18 e-gates serve the main departure area, 12 are dedicated for overseas Filipino workers, and another 12 are at the arrival area. Sandoval said the BI is procuring more e-gates for all international airports in the country to ensure the seamless processing of departing and arriving passengers, especially OFWs, while upholding national security. The BI has also deployed 132 additional immigration officers nationwide, augmented by the activation of mobile immigration counters in high-traffic terminals. Immigration personnel assigned to frontline operations were not allowed to go on leave for the duration of the holiday season to maintain adequate manpower. The BI reminded travelers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their scheduled departure to allow sufficient time for airline, security, and immigration checks. Travelers were also reminded to fill out the eTravel form within 72 hours prior to departure, to speed up immigration processing and minimize delays at the airport. Airport operator New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) reported that international and local passenger traffic at NAIA reached 675,722 during a four days leading to Christmas Day. The highest single-day passenger volume was on Dec. 20, with 171,306 passengers (85,485 international and 85,821 domestic), a 7.28-percent increase from last year’s 159,676. NAIA Terminal 3 accounted for more than half of the total passenger volume, handling over 90,000 passengers — the largest share among all NAIA terminals. On Dec. 21, there were 170,178 passengers (84,520 international and 85,658 domestic), up by 5.63 percent from 161,108 for the same period in 2024. On Dec. 22, there were 164,858 passengers (81,884 international and 82,974 domestic), higher by 3.75 percent than last year’s 158,897.