According to the new guidelines released by the country’s pandemic task force, only OFWs will be allowed to enter the Philippines from March 18 to April 19.
Due to the travel cap, only 1,500 travelers per day from the previous 3,000 would be allowed to enter the country so that the quarantine facilities will not be immediately filled up.
In the event that the number of incoming passengers exceeds 1,500, the airlines will be liable or fined.
“‘Yung airline kapag wala siyang allocation sa pasahero they can still fly in as cargo and then they fly out as passengers. Ang restriction lang is here in Manila kasi andito ang quarantine facility,” said Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Director-General Jim Sydiongco.
(The airline, when it has no allocation for passengers they can still fly in as cargo and then they fly out as passengers. The only restriction is here in Manila because the quarantine facility is here.)
The airlines are ready to follow the guidelines on travel cap.
Philippine Airlines has the option to rebook when service fees have been waived, refund, or convert the ticket as a travel voucher.
They will also announce flights that would be canceled in the coming days.
What to do if flight is affected by new travel cap at NAIA
In Cebu Pacific, the trip can be rebooked within 3 months, put on a travel refund that is available for 2 years, or refund a booked flight.
Volunteers who postpone their trip can rebook their flight 2 hours before the scheduled flight time.
Cebu Pacific flights to Narita and Nagoya Japan from March 18 to April 18 were also canceled.
AirAsia does not yet have international flights, but they have coordination with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for the possible repatriation of stranded Filipinos.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said the travel cap on the number of inbound passengers allowed to enter the Philippines every day would increase once the COVID-19 cases decrease.
“Once na nakita po natin na medyo bumaba ‘yung kaso, pwede po natin i-akyat ‘yan ng 2,000 and another 2,000,” he added.
(Once we see that cases have gone down, we can increase the cap to 2,000, and another 2,000.)