She wanted a two-hour rest before her 4 a.m. flight; entry is allowed only six hours before departure.
An OFW’s emotional account of being initially denied entry to the OFW Lounge at Ninoy Aquino International Airport has gone viral after she said she was told she could only enter six hours before her next flight.
In an Aug. 7 Facebook post, Miss Apple said she arrived in Manila on Aug. 5 at 5:30 p.m. after a 14-hour flight from Miami to Qatar, an eight-hour layover, and another nine-hour flight to the Philippines.
She said she was excited to use the OFW Lounge after her long journey, hoping to rest for about two hours before heading to Terminal 2 for her 4 a.m. domestic flight.
But as she was pushing her luggage cart toward the lounge, a staff member stopped her and asked when her next flight was. “I said 4am po at ang sabi nya hindi ka pa pwde pumasok kasi malayo pa flight mo, ang pwde makapasok dito sa lounge ay yong 6 hours before the flight,” she wrote.
Miss Apple said she explained that she had just come from a long flight and only wanted to rest before going to the other terminal. She said the staff reiterated that the rule was meant to prevent the lounge from becoming crowded.
She admitted that she became frustrated and that her voice rose during the exchange. A staff member later told her not to get angry or shout, which she said she was not doing.
She said the staff eventually allowed her to use the lounge despite her flight still being outside the six-hour window.
“Wow okay thanks for that pero in that moment emotional damaged na ako, at sinabayan pa ng pagod at subrang antok ko na,” she wrote.
Miss Apple said she initially thought about leaving, but decided to return because the lounge was meant for OFWs.
“Lounge is for us na mga OFW so I decided to go back and get inside, nong nasa loob na ako hindi ko mapigilan na umiyak kasi bakit kailangan ko pa mapagdaanan ang hirap bago makapasok sa lounge na yon?”
She also questioned whether the six-hour rule takes into account OFWs who are arriving from long-haul flights and still have several hours before a connecting domestic flight.
“Hindi lahat ng OFW ay paalis ng bansa yong iba ay pauwi din galing sa malayong lugar, uuwi para makita at makasama ang mahal nila sa buhay,” she wrote.
Miss Apple also criticized the lounge’s facilities, saying there was no restroom, the food was “tipid na tipid,” and the chairs were ordinary seats without couches where travelers could properly rest.
‘Rules is rules’
In a follow-up post hours later, Miss Apple clarified that she was not against the lounge’s rules.
“Rules is rules,” she wrote, adding that her point was that arriving OFWs who had just completed long flights should also be accommodated.
She explained that she arrived at 5:30 p.m. and could only enter under the six-hour rule at around 10 p.m.—when she would already need to prepare for her domestic flight and transfer to Terminal 2.
“Yes I am grateful and thankful that they allowed me to used the lounge, thanks to that Lady who allowed me to enter the lounge and I say thank you to her when im inside the lounge,” she wrote.
Miss Apple said she was simply sharing her experience and hoped the lounge could better accommodate OFWs arriving from abroad, especially those who still have long waits before their next flights.
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