PAL to mount special flights to ferry passengers to and from China
Credit to Author: Benjamin L. Vergara, TMT| Date: Thu, 06 Feb 2020 02:38:37 +0000
FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will mount special flights on February 10 to ferry stranded passengers to and from China, its spokesman Cielo Villaluna, said.
“The special PAL flights serving the Manila-Xiamen and Xiamen-Manila routes will be staffed with pilots and cabin crew who volunteered for the service,” Villaluna said in a statement.
The flag carrier, Villaluna said, may use its 199-seater Airbus A321 for the planned mission.
The inbound flight from Xiamen will enable Filipino citizens and holders of Philippine permanent resident visas to fly back to the Philippines.
The outbound flight from Manila will allow Chinese and other non-Filipino nationals to return to mainland China via Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, which is a gateway to other points in China.
The carrier was compelled to cancel its mainland China flights since February 2, after the government imposed a ban on travel of Filipinos to mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, along with restrictions barring foreign nationals from China from entering the Philippines, except for those holding Philippine-issued Permanent Resident Visas.
Flight PR334 will depart Manila for Xiamen at 7:30 a.m. on February 10, arriving at 9:55 a.m. The return PR335 leg will depart Xiamen at 11:05 a.m. and arrive in Manila at 1:05 p.m. on February 10.
Villaluna stressed that these special flights are subject to final government approvals, including the waiver of the travel ban for concerned pilots and cabin crew, who will have to submit to home quarantine for 14 days after their return to the Philippines.
PAL said at present, 64 PAL crew members are undergoing the mandated 14-day quarantine after flying in from China prior to the imposed travel ban. All PAL crew members are Filipinos.