ILOILO City – The Department of Tourism (DOT) in Western Visayas is pushing for the resumption of international flights at the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan town.
According to newly-installed regional director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez, the target is by the second quarter of this year.
“(Airlines) are currently focusing on domestic flights but I already asked our focal person (for airports and seaports) to prepare a report. Since one of our undersecretaries, Usec. (Shahlimar Hofer) Tamano, sits at the board of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), we would like to push for the resumption of these flights,” Rodriquez said yesterday.
Direct flights to Hong Kong and Singapore from the Iloilo Airport were halted in 2020 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In September last year, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. confirmed one airline expressed interest to resume international flights but reconsidered after the first confirmed monkeypox case in the province was recorded in August 2022.
The Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific used to have direct flights to Singapore and Hong Kong from Iloilo and vice versa.
Governor Defensor previously said Iloilo province was ready to resume international flights anytime.
“We are prepared for that,” the governor said in an interview last December 2022.
The provincial government even conducted simulation exercises a few months ago to ensure that health protocols against COVID-19 and monkeypox are in place.
Among those who took part in the simulation exercises were the Department of Health, Iloilo Provincial Health Office, Bureau of Quarantine, and CAAP-Iloilo.
During the exercises, incoming passengers were screened to ensure safety and reduce risks.
Should international flights resume, according to IPHO chief, Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, all arriving airline passengers, whether local or foreign, will be monitored for monkeypox signs and symptom such as skin lesions.
The screening team of the provincial government will spearhead the monitoring at the airport./PN
