Airlines have announced they will continue to operate flight schedules as planned.
Cebu Pacific (CEB) said it will continue to operate its flight schedule, as planned, for the next three days, the airline announced last night (March 21) after the government restricted travel in the next two weeks, starting today (March 22) until April 4, 2021.
Last night, AirAsia Philippines also assured guests of its regular flight operations inbound and outbound Manila to domestic destinations for essential travelers.
In the next 14 days, the government will only allow essential travel due to the rising cases of COVID-19 in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces.
However, CEB passengers who wish to postpone their flights and those traveling for non-essential reasons may select their preferred option through the Manage Booking portal on the Cebu Pacific website (http://bit.ly/CEBmanageflight) up to two hours before their scheduled time of departure, according to the airline advisory.
Passengers can rebook for travel at no additional cost, following CEB’s permanent removal of change fees. A minimal fare difference may apply.
They can also opt to store the amount in a virtual CEB wallet valid for two years and use this to either book a new flight or pay for add-ons, such as baggage allowance, seat selection, etc.
Passengers may seek a refund as well but due to the high volume of requests, the process may take up to seven months from date of request.
Before going to the airport, CEB advised passengers to check the real-time status of flights on its website: https://bit.ly/CEBFlightStatusCheck, along with travel requirements, safety protocols, and frequently asked questions (FAQs) via https://bit.ly/CEBFlightReminders.
Passengers should update their contact details via bit.ly/CEBUpdateInfo to receive email notifications on flight reminders and updates.
CEB will provide updates on flights from March 25 to April 4 in the coming days as more information becomes available.
For their part, AirAsia Philippines assured the safe return of essential travelers to their respective destinations.
Essential travelers must present valid documents such as identification cards that will show proof of residence and must comply with other travel requirements as prescribed by their respective Local Government Units.
“AirAsia aims to make it as convenient as possible for everyone to travel, apart from ensuring you arrive safely at your destination with confidence and peace of mind especially during these challenging times," AirAsia Philippines Spokesperson Steve Dailisan reiterated.
“We continue to work with our partners in the government to ensure a safe and swift journey for our guests, and complies with the advice and regulations from global and local health agencies, civil aviation authorities, and local government units.”
With travel plans being fluid during the current pandemic, AirAsia offers enhanced flexibility options for guests to manage their flights.
AirAsia is offering provisions for guests traveling for leisure who wish to make changes to their flights in line with the new developments following the Philippine government’s latest directive.
Non-Essential travelers coming from and going to Manila with existing flight bookings with a departure date from 22 March 2021 to 4 April 2021 can move their flight from 5 April 2021 until 30 June 2021 and will be able to select from a range of extended flexibility options for future travel.
Guests with cancelled flight bookings can opt for unlimited flight changes.
This means they can change to any new travel date before June 30, 2021 on the same route for an unlimited number of times without any additional cost, subject to seat availability.
A second option is to credit it to their account.
They can retain the value of their flight booking in their AirAsia BIG Member account for future travel with AirAsia to be redeemed within 730 calendar days, or two years, from the issuance date.
The travel date of the new booking can fall on any date within the published flight schedule on airasia.com.
Guests who need assistance may chat with AVA on the airasia super app, airasia.com or log on to support.airasia.com to make their selection.
The above guest information is only applicable for direct online bookings made via the airasia super app or airasia.com.
For group bookings or those made with travel agents, guests are advised to refer to their respective booking agents for further assistance.
“While our customer support services including AVA, are receiving a higher-than-usual volume of requests, we would like to assure all guests that we are doing everything that we can to assist their concerns. We hope guests bear with us as we prioritize those with immediate flight departure needs first,” says Dailisan.
The airline urges guests to check the latest travel restrictions and advice of respective local and national governments before travelling, as policies may change frequently.
AirAsia is closely monitoring the global health situation and reserves the right to announce further policies according to the latest developments.