Cebu Pacific and the Philippine Airlines (PAL) will implement new protocols in preparation for the resumption of operations.

Commercial flight operations will remain suspended until May 15 due to the extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience at Cebu Pacific Candice Iyog announced they will intensify their sanitary protocols through “contactless flights”.

“We are implementing additional procedures to assure our passengers and give them the confidence to travel again. Rolling out ‘contactless flights’ will minimize face-to-face contact between our ground staff and our passengers and observe physical distancing,” she said in a statement.

Cebu Pacific encourages its passengers to check in online and will be required to wear face masks upon entry at the airport terminal and for the duration of the flight.

All pilots, cabin crews, ground employees will also wear personal protective equipment (PPE) while on duty. Pilots and cabin crew will undergo  rapid antibody tests before they are assigned to operate flights.

Meanwhile, PAL will also require face masks for all visitors as well as its passengers. Thermal scans will be conducted at ticket offices and online check-in is encouraged. AAC

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT), together with several government agencies and various domestic airlines, have joined forces to ferry more than 10,000 foreign tourists from different parts of the country to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Clark International Airport.

This measure is aimed at assisting these foreign tourists who were stranded in the country due to the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine to be able to go back to their respective countries.

DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said this will help lessen the stranded tourists in the various islands in the country.

“The Department of Tourism has been doing everything within its resources to ease the congestion in the different regions by facilitating the movement of foreign tourists stranded in the different islands of the country,” Puyat said in a statement.

Over the weekend, 7,915 tourists were brought to the two airports through the sweeper flights of different domestic airlines, such as Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Air Asia, and Air Swift, as well as chartered flights.

DOT regional offices also assisted the stranded tourists in Luzon via land transport.

The Philippine Coast Guard, on the other hand, helped ferry those in Bohol, Siquijor, Negros, and Cebu through inter-island vessels.

Shuttle services and hotel accommodations were arranged for several stranded tourists who were also given free foods and hygienic items while waiting for their flights at the NAIA.

Other sweeper flights were also used for those in Iloilo, Tacloban, and Cagayan de Oro.

Three more sweeper flights are also being prepared for the others in Davao and Puerto Princesa to be transported on Thursday (March 26).

Two sweeper flights are also scheduled for tourists on Boracay island for transportation on Thursday, and four more over the weekend. — (from the report of Asher Cadapan, Jr.) /mbmf

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) announced on Sunday (March 15) the cancellation advisory that Cebu Pacific Air has issued covering selected domestic flights from March 15 to April 13, 2020.

On its Facebook post, the MIAA said the cancellation is in line with the directives from the Provincial Government of Cebu prohibiting the entry of passengers into the province via air from Clark, Legazpi, Dumaguete, and Cagayan de Oro.

The cancellation covers the following flights:

• 5J 607      Clark-Cebu
• 5J 157      Clark-Cebu
• 5J 609      Clark-Cebu
• 5J 204      Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan)-Cebu
• DG 6516  Dumaguete-Cebu

The advisory also said that passengers on canceled flights may choose from any of the following options:

• Rebook the flight, with change fees and fare difference waived. 
• Store the full value of the ticket in a Travel Fund. This is valid for 180 days and can be used to book any Cebu Pacific flight within the next 12 months
• Get a full refund. The refund will be according to the mode of payment. If paid in cash, the refund must be claimed at designated Cebu Pacific ticket offices. If payment was made through debit or credit card, please allow two (2) billing cycles for the refund to be credited into the account. — /mbmf