The Air Carriers Association of the Philippines (ACAP) called on the government to further simplify travel requirements to meet the surge in travel demand for the holidays.
Currently, local airlines experience high demand for flights based on forward bookings and passenger inquiries.
However, passenger sentiments expressed through the various platforms of all ACAP members indicate the challenges they face with varied requirements set by the local government units (LGUs).
On domestic travel, ACAP is urging LGUs to accept vaccine cards, with or without QR codes.
This will simplify the proof of vaccination requirement regardless of the origin of the vaccine card.
Likewise, ACAP is also appealing to the government to increase the prevailing cap of four thousand to ten thousand passengers daily on international arrivals for inbound passengers carried by all international airlines into the country.
ACAP shared the view that fully vaccinated inbound travelers from “Green List” countries should no longer form part of, and be excluded from the daily cap on international arrivals, considering that these travelers are no longer undergoing facility-based quarantine upon their arrival.
ACAP called for a reduction of quarantine days for fully-vaccinated passengers from "Yellow List" countries, from the current five days to just two days.
These recommendations, if considered and adopted by the government, will enable travelers, especially Overseas Filipino Workers and Balikbayans who have long been wanting to return to the Philippines for Christmas, to enjoy seamless, convenient and hassle-free travel across all touchpoints of their journey.
These measures will be a huge boost to a recovering aviation and tourism industry, both of which were badly hit by the pandemic.
Lowered alert levels have led air carriers to ramp up international and domestic flights, subject to prevailing travel restrictions.
The travel peak month of December is expected to be marked by improved passenger arrivals as airline companies restore a significant segment of their flight route network.
ACAP Members include Air Philippines Corporation (PAL Express), Cebgo, Inc. (Cebgo), Cebu Air, Inc. (Cebu Pacific), Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) and Philippines AirAsia Inc. (AirAsia Philippines).