Airport officials yesterday said immediate measures are being taken to improve the facilities and services at the Bacolod Silay Airport amid mounting complaints, especially on Facebook, which have gone viral.

The assurance came from Bacolod Silay Airport manager Mecine Reyes and Assistant Director General II Edgardo Costes of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

In a letter posted on the Facebook group page called “Bacolod-Silay Airport... just our opinion!” yesterday by Joey Kilayko Montalvo, Costes wrote that “immediate measures are being taken up to address the problem, particularly on the reported dirty and awful smell of the toilets, which is believed caused by the failure of the electronic device to automatically flush the urinals.”

The CAAP will look for possible replacements or conversion of these electronic devices, which are not locally available, he said.

“In the meantime, we directed the airport manager of the Bacolod-Silay Airport to double the deployment of maintenance personnel and to exert maximum effort in maintaining the hygiene of the comfort rooms,” Costes also wrote.

On the issues of no Wifi connection and bad odor at the airport, he added that the airport manger has been advised to take appropriate steps to address such concerns.

“Rest assured that CAAP is exerting its best effort to commit convenient and comfortable facilities to all airports nationwide,” Costes wrote.

On Sunday Silay Mayor Jose Montelibano said the WiFi connection at the airport is working now.

Reyes, in response to a complaint of body order coming from personnel manning the tubes where passengers pass, said she has sent a directive to various airlines asking them to ensure that their personnel observe proper hygiene.

She pointed out that personnel in the tubes are employed by the airlines using them.

Businessman Allan Gensoli, in the airport Facebook page, had complained, that when he stepped out of a plane at the Bacolod Silay Airport “I was engulfed by muggy climate and horrible body odor from one of five uniformed personnel standing there by the door. HR should require them to smell good at all times.”

An airport source said what would be difficult is if a passenger using the tube is the one who had body odor, because then they would not have any control of such person.

On the complaints on the airconditioning at the airport, Reyes said repair of the chiller began on February 6 and it is scheduled to be completed in 60 days.

The compressor and several parts have to be replaced, Reyes said, adding that she was told that the problem was caused by fluctuating current at the airport.

Reyes, who has been manager of the airport for only one month and 18 days, assured that they are doing their best to address the airport problems.

She said efforts are underway to ensure clean comfort rooms and the repair or replacement of the electronic sensors for flushing toilets.

A monitoring team has been created to ensure that the bathrooms stay clean, she said.

Reyes also said they are requesting for additional personnel at the airport, noting that they have 32 to care for the three-storey terminal, with 15 working per shift.

All fees collected at the Bacolod-Silay Airport are deposited in the CAAP account, they are only allowed to retain 10 percent from the terminal fees for emergencies, she also explained.

Reyes said she met with the president of transport group operating at the airport to discuss the orderly loading and unloading of passengers.

We have also been cleaning the grounds outside the airport, she said.

As to complaints on airport parking fees paid to an Iloilo firm, Reyes said she will look into the matter.

Reyes said she will report on the steps taken to address problems at the airport to Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., who had earlier said he would seek answers from her on the concerns raised.

As of yesterday the Bacolod-Silay Airport Facebook account members had grown to 212.

In response to the assurance of improvements at the airport, Alan Gensoli wrote on the airport FB page: “This is a step in the right direction. Perhaps giving then CAAP one week starting today would be fair. Let's see our comments improve on Feb. 27, 2012.”*CPG

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