11 Kalibo airport employees sacked over terminal fee scam

Eleven employees of the Kalibo International Airport (KIA) were sacked after being found to have sold used terminal fee tickets, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announced on Wednesday.

The CAAP said Deputy Director General for Administration Maj. Gen. Artemio Orozco ordered the "immediate removal" of the unnamed personnel.

Another CAAP regular employee also suspected to be involved has been suspended pending further investigation by the CAAP Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS).

"A show cause order has been issued to the regular employee who works as a terminal fee collector at the airport," Orozco said.

Under the supposed scheme, the KIA employees would "recycle" tickets to gain more cash. So far, the CSIS has only found proof that members of the group conducted the scam in January and February this year.

The KIA terminal fee for a domestic flight costs P200 while a passenger is charged P750 for international travel.

"We cannot yet say how much of the KIA's earnings this group has taken through their scam of basically recycling terminal fee tickets until the CSIS concludes its investigation into how long the group has been involved in the modus," Orozco said.

The CAAP last week also sacked seven of its workers at the Zamboanga International Airport after testing positive for the use of shabu. —ALG, GMA News