Manila Bulletin
Philippines
PAL mounts volunteer-crewed special flights to-from Xiamen to ferry travel-ban stranded passengers
Philippines
PAL mounts volunteer-crewed special flights to-from Xiamen to ferry travel-ban stranded passengers
PAL mounts volunteer-crewed special flights to-from Xiamen to ferry travel-ban stranded passengers
Published Feb 5, 2020 12:00 am
By Jeffrey Damicog
Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced on Wednesday (Feb. 5) that it will be sending special flights to and from mainland China on Feb. 10 to help stranded passengers whose flights were cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
(Manila Bulletin File Photo)
“The flag carrier was compelled to cancel its mainland China flights since February 2, after the Philippine government imposed a ban on travel of Filipinos to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, along with restrictions barring foreign nationals from China from entering the Philippines (except for those holding Philippine-issued Permanent Resident Visas),” read PAL’s advisory on its Facebook page.
PAL said the special Feb. 10 flights will serve the Manila-Xiamen and Xiamen-Manila routes.
“The inbound flight from Xiamen will enable Filipino citizens and holders of Philippine permanent resident visas to fly back to the Philippines,” it stated.
“The outbound flight from Manila will allow Chinese and other non-Filipino nationals to return to mainland China via Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, which is a gateway to other points in China.”
PAL intends to use its 199-seater Airbus A321 aircraft for the planned mission.
It said Flight PR 334 will depart Manila for Xiamen at 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 10, arriving at 9:55 a.m.
The return PR335 leg will depart Xiamen at 11:05 a.m., and arrive in Manila at 1:50 p.m. on Feb. 10.
“The special PAL flights serving the Manila-Xiamen and Xiamen-Manila routes will be staffed with pilots and cabin crew who volunteered for the service,” noted PAL.
On the other hand, PAL said the special flights are still “subject to final government approvals, including the waiver of the Filipino travel ban for concerned pilots and cabin crew, who will have to submit to home quarantine for 14 days after their return to the Philippines.”
“At present, 64 PAL crew members are undergoing the mandated 14-day quarantine after flying in from China prior to the imposed travel ban. All PAL crew members are Filipino nationals,” it also said.
(Manila Bulletin File Photo)
“The flag carrier was compelled to cancel its mainland China flights since February 2, after the Philippine government imposed a ban on travel of Filipinos to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, along with restrictions barring foreign nationals from China from entering the Philippines (except for those holding Philippine-issued Permanent Resident Visas),” read PAL’s advisory on its Facebook page.
PAL said the special Feb. 10 flights will serve the Manila-Xiamen and Xiamen-Manila routes.
“The inbound flight from Xiamen will enable Filipino citizens and holders of Philippine permanent resident visas to fly back to the Philippines,” it stated.
“The outbound flight from Manila will allow Chinese and other non-Filipino nationals to return to mainland China via Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, which is a gateway to other points in China.”
PAL intends to use its 199-seater Airbus A321 aircraft for the planned mission.
It said Flight PR 334 will depart Manila for Xiamen at 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 10, arriving at 9:55 a.m.
The return PR335 leg will depart Xiamen at 11:05 a.m., and arrive in Manila at 1:50 p.m. on Feb. 10.
“The special PAL flights serving the Manila-Xiamen and Xiamen-Manila routes will be staffed with pilots and cabin crew who volunteered for the service,” noted PAL.
On the other hand, PAL said the special flights are still “subject to final government approvals, including the waiver of the Filipino travel ban for concerned pilots and cabin crew, who will have to submit to home quarantine for 14 days after their return to the Philippines.”
“At present, 64 PAL crew members are undergoing the mandated 14-day quarantine after flying in from China prior to the imposed travel ban. All PAL crew members are Filipino nationals,” it also said.