MCIA Suspends Policy on Removing Shoes at Departure

Plane passengers will no longer be required to remove their shoes upon entering the Mactan Cebu International Airport’s departure areas provided that the alarm system will not signal for any contraband when they pass by the X-Ray scanning machine.

Airport general manager Nigel Paul Villarete explained that the suspension of the policy requiring plane passengers to remove their shoes in entering the airport’s departure area is in line with the implementation of the same policy at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Villarete explained that shoes will no longer be removed at the final X-ray or Securing Screening Checkpoint provided that the alarm is not triggered when a passenger passes through the metal detector.

But Villarete explained that whenever the metal detector will trigger the concerned suspicious passenger will be held and this time he or she will be required to remove the shoes.

It was about five years ago when the MCIA implemented the removal of shoes policy due to security reasons. Security conditions are also made by the Office for Transportation Security of the Department of Transportation and Communications (OTS-DOTC).

Under Security Condition One (SECCO) 1, a manual search to all airport users will be applied randomly, which will be done by the detailed screening officer at the entrance of the departure area.

The latest policy is that shoes shall be removed only for X-ray screening when the metal detector alarm is triggered by an airport user upon entry giving signals of possible threats and proper security measures should be implemented.

But when the metal detector will become unserviceable manual searches shall be conducted to all outgoing passengers.

While the passengers’ shoes will no longer be removed, the passengers’ luggage and baggage continued to be screened at the Security Screening Checkpoints.

Villarete said they are expecting five additional new Securing Screening Checkpoint a few months from now.