Thirteen international and local airlines that temporarily moved to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 due to concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will move back and start operating at NAIA Terminal 3 starting July 8, 2020, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said Saturday.
Media Affairs Division head Jess Martinez said that 13 international and local airlines are: Air Asia (Z2), All Nippon Air (NH), Cathay Pacific Airways (CX), Cebu Pacific Air (5J), Delta Airlines (DL), Emirates Air (EY), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), Qantas Airlines (QF), Qatar Airways (QR), Singapore Airlines (SQ), Turkish Airlines (TK), United Airlines (UA), and PAL Express. They temporarily moved to NAIA 1 last April as MIAA streamlined operations in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Martinez clarified that only foreign nationals stranded in the country due to the lockdown; diplomats, including their spouses and children; and other nationals with permanent residence visa can depart at NAIA.
On the other hand, only returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), stranded Filipinos in other countries, and other nationals with permanent residence visas and students will be allowed to arrive at NAIA on board commercial flights, Martinez added.
While the government has started easing restrictions, arrivals are still limited at the NAIA terminals – only 2,400 passengers per day that includes 1,200 repatriated OFWs and 1,200 for commercial passengers.
International airlines like Cathay Pacific Airlines, which have six flights per day for Hong Kong-Manila-Hong Kong trip, will operate once a day only if there are enough passengers per flight, Martinez said.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI), Bureau of Customs (BOC), and other government agencies that scaled down operations and downsized its workforce at NAIA following flight cancellations and travel restrictions will be back to normal operations starting July 8.