APPREHENSIVE, I must admit, as I make a stopover at Incheon, South Korea.
To be in an airplane (and airport) again when news of Covid is still lurking makes me uneasy. It is my first time to travel abroad after two and half years. The last one was a trip to UK and few Nordic states right before the pandemic struck.
En route to New York, I had to take a flight out of NAIA since Asiana Airlines still does not fly in and out of Clark International Airport (code: CRK). While that is a business decision by the airline, I find it to be so inconvenient. How I (and thousands of other passengers, whether Pinoys or Koreans) wish that the Korean flag carrier would restore its Clark flights.
While there are now good tollroads, especially the NLEX, that cut travel time between our place of residence and NAIA by 2 to 3 hours, I could have taken other airlines like Qatar and Emirates out of CRK. No thanks to the Asiana mileage I am trying to maximize.
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I am writing this portion of my column in a common resting area for passengers at Incheon airport. I wish it were at a more comfortable location.
Our plane landed here shortly before 5 AM for a five-hour stopover and as practiced before, I immediately went to the Business Class Lounge where I have privilege as Diamond Club member. Something I earned through compiled mileage points over the years as member in the Asiana Club.
But alas, all of the three Lounges (West, Central and East) do not open until 7 AM. This is something new which I thought Asiana Airllines should have relayed to passengers before hand.
If my memory serves me right, it wasn’t like this before when I could take myself to the Lounges and relax soonest after disembarking from the plane even at very early hours of the morning. Has Asiana been thrifting or has their care and concern for loyal customers been diminishing?
Back at home, it was so hard to connect to their phone numbers and get a live person on the phone to answer querries. I also could not get simple concessions as I used to like getting emergency exit seats. Now I am wondering if it is worth sticking it out with this airline.
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My trip to New York, both leisure and business, was not without worries.
It came at a time few days after a Filipino lawyer was shot in a car while visiting friends in Philadelphia. I could only imagine Consul General Elmer Cato on his toes again even as the hate crime against Asians, where Pinoys have also suffered, has not fully receded.
I saw him in the news trying to give comfort to the family. Of course the work of the Consulate does not end there. There is this issue of justice and repatriation for the slain Atty. John Albert Laylo.
There is this monkey pox scare too. I am bound to one US state (and neighbor New Jersey) where there are reported cases of the dreaded disease. In the Philippines, I am used to monkeys – goofing, toying, roaming around. The type that are not found in cages nor captivity.
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There is this laborious preparation of documentary requirements too for travel to US.
While RTPCR and antigen testing was already waived in the US, one must be able to present proof of vaccination. Good thing, I am fully vaxed with two boosters already. My records are contained in a web-based App done by my city of residence with corresponding ID (take a bow there Mayor Cris Garbo and Dr. Jay Rivera).
On top of that, I also secured paper-based certification from ever reliable Dra. Menchie Dobles and deputy Dra. Dianne Tongol of Clark Development Corp that facilitated my vaxes and boosters.
Ahhhhh, there is also this medical insurance too with Covid coverage. Thanks to Joy M. Gonzales who referred me to a provider the day before I left Philippines. The price was reasonable but more than that, it gives a sense of peace and comfort that I’ll be able to draw something if an emergency takes place.
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NAIA is a no man’s land to me. Getting there at least an hour before the Asiana counter opens, I was allowed to sit at a waiting area in one corner of the Terminal 1 (yes, that old edifice that was once notorious for dirty toilets).
What I could not comprehend is when the check in counters opened, I and the waiting passengers, were led out again of the building and pass through another entrance to the same terminal. That meant going through another security check and xray of luggage which I went through the first time I went inside the building.
Perhaps, DOTr Secretary Art Tugade did not know of this inconvenience that even OFWs – considered as our present day heroes – are made to go through. From that waiting room, there is but only a steel railing that separates the waiting area from the main hall where check in counters are located.
I don’t get the idea of having passengers go out of the building again. During that time, there was a long line and it was even drizzling. I can only commiserate and imagine those who go through that ordeal when there is heavy downpour the sun is high up scorching.
Knowing Sec. Art, my former boss, he does not want people to suffer even a bit. Not by any reason – especially for lack of innovativeness, inititative and creativity.
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Yes, I must admit that this trip was giving me some chills.
If it is any comfort, reading Our Daily Bread, June 21 issue, gave me reassurance. Of God’s travelling mercies.
Titled “God Fights For Us”, the Bible-based devotion brought to fore once again God’s protection in the midst of “predators” like Covid, violence, other threats.
To travel or not, what I know is God is good. All the time.