Passengers aboard a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Caticlan, Malay--the gateway town of Boracay Island in Aklan province--were forced to deplane at the last minute at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Monday, March 22 as a result of prevailing travel restrictions.
It was gathered that the aircraft was about to leave for Caticlan at around 2 p.m. from NAIA Terminal 3 when a personnel from the Civil Aeronautic Board (CAB) halted the take off.
"We just received the order from IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) this afternoon that all liesure trips are not allowed. Only essential trip are allowed to travel," said the CAB personnel, who declined to give his name.
One of the passengers who were forced to disembark, Aljon Bordadino, said he was surprised by the development since they were already inside the plane.
"After one hour the pilot annouced that we are going to go out due to the travel restrictions," he said.
Bordadino said he and his companions have already complied with the requirements being imposed by the local government unit (LGU) of Malay to tourists who intend to go to the world-famous Boracay.
In the end, the airline processed the rebooking of all passengers without penalty, thanks to a policy that was implemented amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.