COUNTRYS flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is gearing up for the country's reopening of borders in December as it expects passenger arrival capacity at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) this peak Holiday Season.
The carrier said that they are ready for the arrival of local and foreign travelers from green list countries who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 virus.
"PAL is good and ready for tourist arrivals. There will be adequate manpower deployment for ease and convenience of all arriving passengers,“ PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said Friday in a phone interview.
“There will be additional deployment of cabin crew for line duty this December peak season and beyond in line with the easing of restrictions, gradual recovery of the travel industry and the upcoming increase in international arrivals," Villaluna added.
Villaluna also said that at present, PAL is operating an average of 120 flight legs daily (international and domestic flights combined) compared to 300 flight legs, pre-pandemic.
She said that this is an indication that confidence in travel is building up and this is further boosted by PAL's strict safety protocols.
"The country's alert levels may have been lowered but we continue to place high priority on the observance of safety protocols," Villaluna added.
The airline has a deployment of 1,400 cabin crew before Covid-19 pandemic.
But the number declined to less than 1,000 last year as the airline industry was one of the hardest-hit global industries by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) in its Resolution No. 150-A said that starting December 1, fully vaccinated individuals or non-visa required countries shall be allowed to enter the Philippines until December 15 subject to following conditions:
- Holders of passports valid for at least six months at the time of arrival, and with a return or outbound ticket to their country of origin or next country of destination.
- Prior to arrival in the Philippines, the foreign national should have stayed exclusively in Green List countries/territories/jurisdictions for 14 days.
Tags: #philippineairlines, #openingofborders, #prepandemic, #ninoyaquinointernationalairport