ILOILO – After three months of suspension due to the community quarantine, commercial flights have resumed at the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan town.
In Executive Order (EO) No. 128-C issued on Saturday, June 20, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. allowed the resumption of commercial flights from Metro Manila to Iloilo and vice versa.
“The road, maritime and aviation sectors in public transportation for carriage of passengers shall be allowed to operate in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Department of Transportation…” read part of the EO’s Section 7.
There are guidelines to be strictly followed.
Only a maximum of 1,500 passengers shall be allowed for inbound flights per week.
The sale of airline tickets to locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) – who are not returning or traveling as organized by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) – shall require a valid government-issued identification card showing relevant information such as residence, citizenship or occupation, provided that no return airline ticket should be issued.
The provincial government must be furnished with the passenger manifest of every flight by the airline and/or Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) at least two days before the flight.
For LSIs and OFWs (who are both returning or traveling as organized by OWWA) the issuance of the boarding pass shall require medical certificate and travel authority and a valid government-issued identification card.
Also, chartered flights of OFWs shall be separate from the flights carrying LSI passengers.
“We are still under a modified general community quarantine and we still have border restrictions,” stressed Governor Defensor.
During a meeting with Defensor on June 18, executives of Air Asia, Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines agreed on the 1,500 weekly cap on airline passengers.
This number would be equally divided among the three airlines.
Each airline could have twice-a-week flights to the Iloilo Airport, according to CAAP-Iloilo chief Manuela Luisa Palma.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Iloilo Airport served around 25 arrival and departure flights daily. Just this June 16, Defensor approved outbound flights to Manila from the Iloilo Airport but only for locally stranded individuals, employees who have work in Metro Manila and overseas workers who have scheduled flights back to their employment abroad./PN
