Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — OFWs returning to Philippines will be automatically exempted from paying airport terminal fees starting March 2017, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.
At a forum on Monday, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Ed Monreal said that airlines have agreed to waive terminal fees from return tickets purchased by OFWs abroad.
“Airline[s] have already agreed in principle, so, hopefully by March 2017, mawala na ang pangamba ng ating mga OFWs sa pagbabayad ng terminal fee [the fears of our OFWs over paying terminal fees will now disappear],” Monreal said.
Returning OFWs are currently exempted from paying the ₱550 terminal fee. However, because the fee is automatically integrated in the cost of airline tickets, they must claim their refunds from MIAA counters in the airport.
Monreal said the MIAA hopes to remedy this inconvenience by next year. He said the new system will be implemented in March 2017 to give airlines time to update their systems for this policy.
The DOTr and MIAA have not yet signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with airlines to formalize the agreement.
