KALIBO, Aklan – Kalibo International Airport is ready to welcome back travelers, according to airport manager Engineer Eusebio Monserate Jr.
New guidelines will be adopted but without compromising the safety and well-being of airport personnel, flight crew and visitors, he stressed.
As announced by Gov. Florencio Miraflores recently, there will be no mandatory quarantine for all travelers unless they manifest symptoms.
Those found symptomatic on arrival will be isolated in a facility for further evaluation.
Travelers entering in Aklan are required to fill up the online health declaration form and submit negative swab test results.
Returning Aklanon residents from outside Western Visayas (returned within seven days from departure), passing-through travelers with Safe, Swift and Smart Passage (S-Pass) and Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APORs) are exempt from showing proof of coronavirus test results.
“With the easing of travel restrictions, the number of passengers at the airport will likely improve,” said Monserate.
Prior to these new travel guidelines, the number of passengers passing through the airport was low due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Kalibo International Airport services two Kalibo-Manila flights daily (Monday to Saturday), and three flights every Sunday. The route is served by Philippine Airlines, AirAsia and Cebu Pacific.
Going forward, Kalibo airport instituted significant safety and health standards to prevent the spread of coronavirus through continuous cleaning and disinfecting of airport facilities.
Passengers should continue to observe social distancing and to comply with body temperature checks.
They are still encouraged to wear face protection and to regularly sanitize their hands.
As of March 6, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Aklan hit 954 and the death toll surged to 30./PN