Cebu Pacific, PAL axe Taiwan flights on expanded travel ban

CEBU Pacific and Philippine Airlines announced the suspension of inbound and outbound flights in Taiwan following the announcement that the country is included in the Philippines’ expanded travel ban aimed to contain the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV ).

Cebu Pacific said its passengers have already been notified of the flight cancellations. Affected passengers may also check the status of their flights through the “manage booking” portal in the Cebu Pacific website.

Similarly, Philippine Airlines also announced the cancellation of flights to and from Taiwan.

Passengers who booked their Taiwan flights with Philippine Airlines are advised to wait for the announcement regarding the lifting of the ban.

“If your flight was cancelled, you may refund your ticket at any time, with refund fees waived. Once the travel ban is lifted and we reinstate our flights, you may rebook, reroute, or refund your ticket within your ticket’s validity period, with rebooking, rerouting or refund fees waived,” Philippine Airlines said.

On Monday, the Department of Health clarified that Taiwan was indeed covered by the expanded travel ban, given the “confusion” among the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

President Rodrigo Duterte previously issued the travel ban, which also covers mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong, to contain the spread of the 2019-nCoV ARD.

The ban covers visitors from the aforementioned countries and likewise bars Filipinos from travelling to these countries.