CAB to airlines: Cancel domestic flights

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has advised airline companies to cancel the resumption of their flights starting today.

In an advisory dated May 30, CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla disclosed that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has yet to approve the routes for domestic services proposed by airlines for the resumption of domestic operations this week.

The CAB also ordered airline companies to stop selling tickets for the period.

Arcilla did not respond when sought for clarification

on the advisory.

CAB chief legal officer Wyrlou Samodio also declined to comment, but said “we still have to wait (for) the decision of the IATF.”

Some local carriers have been working closely with the government agencies concerned before announcing their scheduled flights.

CAB’s decision came after Western Visayas officials asked the IATF to keep air and sea travel in the region closed beyond May 31, as a deterrent against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

They are asking that only overseas Filipino workers, local stranded individuals and cargo be allowed into the province.

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said they were assured by Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año that the latter would relay their concerns to the IATF.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson also said they want to limit inter-island travel between Panay and Negros to returning stranded residents, and will keep the border between Negros Occidental and Oriental closed.

“We intend to keep the borders closed, I think that is what Oriental also wants,” Lacson said.

In its latest advisory, PAL now intends to resume domestic operations by June 8. Its limited international services, however, are still scheduled to resume today.

Budget carriers Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Philippines released over the weekend their respective schedules for the resumption of their domestic passenger services this week, but both indicated no intentions to fly abroad for the rest of the month.

Prior to CAB’s advisory, Cebu Pacific said it would start resuming services tomorrow with a limited number of domestic flights from Manila to General Santos and vice versa, while AirAsia was to resume services in the country on Wednesday, initially for key domestic routes and will gradually increase to include international destinations by July 1.