Hundreds of passengers arriving on Thursday at the second terminal of Ninoy Aquino International Airport had to carry their luggage from the carousel to the customs area because the pushcarts were missing pushcarts, belated reports said.

Elderly passengers on flights from Inchon and Seoul in South Korea and Hong Kong were a pitiful sight as they struggled with heavy loads and others had to make several trips to move their luggage. Airport officials restored the pushcarts after they were deluged with complaints.

Investigators discovered that the porters had hidden the pushcarts, reportedly on the orders of an official of the porterage service concessionaire who was miffed at a customs order banning porters from mingling with arriving airline passengers at the customs area.