Limited domestic, int’l flights to resume starting June 1

SOME airline companies in the country have expressed plans to gradually resume their operations following the government's decision to place the National Capital Region and other areas in the country, including Central Visayas, under general community quarantine (GCQ) from June 1 to 15, 2020.

AirAsia, in a post on its official Facebook page, Saturday, May 30, 2020, said it is planning to slowly resume its domestic operations and it is currently checking with aviation authorities and local government units (LGUs) for their guidelines regarding the opening of local airports.

"Stringent procedures are in place to ensure flight crew and passengers' safety. The new set of measures includes contactless boarding procedures, disinfection of all aircraft and facilities, and the use of high-efficiency particulate air (Hepa) filters inside AirAsia aircraft," the statement said.

Likewise, Philippine Airlines (PAL), on its advisory on Friday, May 29, said it will resume operating its scheduled flights on selected international and domestic routes starting June 1.

PAL said it will have limited international services on routes to the United States of America, Canada, Guam, Vietnam, mainland China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

They will also reduce the number of domestic flights on most routes to and from their hub airport in Manila (Ninoy Aquino International Airport.)

It also said it is evaluating the possibility of operating selected services to London and Sydney in June 2020.

However, they will not be operating regularly scheduled flights to and from the following international destinations for June: Auckland, Bali, Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Busan, Fukuoka, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Macau, Melbourne, Phnom Penh, Perth, Port Moresby, Quanzhou (Jinjiang), Sapporo, Seoul (Incheon) and Shanghai.

PAL said it plans to increase the number of routes and flights in the coming months if allowed by aviation authorities, global public health conditions, and the travel environment.

Its passengers are reminded to bring their face masks or facial coverings, as they are now required to wear face masks at all times – at the airport and through the entire flight.

PAL cautioned that since it is a developing situation, plans and schedules may change as they may be compelled to scale back on flights and routes based on evolving travel restrictions.

The tourism and travel industries are some of the hardest-hit industries due to the threats of Covid-19.

In February, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport saw an average drop of 2,000 arriving international passengers daily as the travel sector continues to reel from the effects of Covid-19 on international tourism.

Budget airline Cebu Pacific, likewise, said on May 18, it has canceled over 26,400 flights as of May 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, mirroring the aviation industry's growing economic pain.

Here are some of the international and domestic flights PAL will start to operate:

MANILA – LOS ANGELES – MANILA

PR 102/103 – June 8 and 10 PR 102/103 – Every Mon / Wed / Thu / Sun (Effective June 11) PR 102/103 – Every Mon / Wed / Thu / Sat / Sun (Effective June 15)

MANILA – SAN FRANCISCO – MANILA

PR 104/105 – June 1 and 10 PR 104/105 – Every Mon / Wed / Fri / Sun (Effective June 11)

MANILA – NEW YORK ( JFK) – MANILA

PR 126/127 – Every Thu / Sun (Effective June 11) PR 126/127 – Every Wed / Thu / Sun (Effective June 22)

MANILA – HONOLULU – MANILA

PR 100/101 – Every Tue / Sat (Effective June 13)

MANILA – GUAM

PR 110 – June 12 PR 110 – Every Fri / Mon (Effective June 15)

GUAM – MANILA

PR 111 – June 13 PR 111 – Every Sat / Tue (Effective June 15)

PR 591/592 – Every Mon / Wed / Sat (Effective June 15)

MANILA – HONG KONG – MANILA

PR 300/301 – Every Fri / Sun (Effective June 19)

MANILA – BACOLOD – MANILA

PR 2131/2132 – Daily (Effective June 1)

MANILA – DUMAGUETE – MANILA

PR 2545/2546 – Every Mon / Wed / Fri / Sat / Sun (Effective June 1)

MANILA – TAGBILARAN (PANGLAO) – MANILA

PR 2773/2774 – Every Wed / Fri / Sun (Effective June 1) PR 2773/2774 – Every Mon / Wed / Fri / Sat / Sun (Effective June 8)

CEBU – DAVAO – CEBU

PR 2363/2364 – Every Fri / Sun (Effective June 1) PR 2363/2364 – Daily (Effective June 8)