By Lorenz S. Marasigan & Recto L. Mercene
THE Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) ordered all airlines operating to and from the Philippines to comply with a travel ban that it issued to help prevent the spread of the nCoV 2019 in the country, following the death of a Chinese national due to the virus on Sunday.
The order reinstates the directive of President Duterte to bar entry of any person—except Filipinos and holders of permanent resident visas—coming from China and its Special Administrative Regions (SAR) or have been to the said areas in the past 14 days.
The order also prohibits Filipinos from traveling to China or its SAR, Hong Kong and Macau.
“All airlines shall inform the board of any action or modification made in its procedure in relation to the implementation of the directive,” CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla said.
He also mandated the Air Carriers’ Association of the Philippines and the Board of Airline Representatives to assist in the immediate dissemination of the order to their member airlines.
Already, Filipino carriers Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Philippines have canceled their flights to and from China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Cebu Pacific is now also working closely with the Department of Health to contact all passengers aboard the same flights taken by the patients who tested positive for the nCoV.
Passengers who tested positive for the nCoV were reportedly onboard Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 241 (Hong Kong-Cebu) and Cebgo Flight DG 6510 (Cebu-Dumaguete).
“The cabin crew and pilots on affected flights have been placed on quarantine, and aircraft used for both flights have undergone thorough disinfection,” the leading low-cost airline said.
Contact tracing
CEB also said it is trying to get in touch with all the passengers aboard the same flights taken by the patients who tested positive for nCoV.
“CEB is working closely with the Health Department, Bureau of Quarantine and the National Epidemiology Center to contain the virus.
“We are in the process of contacting all passengers who were aboard” the flights 5J 241 and DG 6510.
CEB said passengers on the abovementioned flights who have not been contacted are requested to contact Cebu Pacific via +632 87020886 (7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, Manila time).
“We also advise them to seek immediate medical attention if they have flu-like symptoms such as coughing, colds and fever.”
Cebu Pacific has also cancelled “all flights between the Philippines and mainland China [Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzen] until March 29, 2020. Flights to and from Hong Kong and Macau, on the other hand, have been reduced.”
The carrier said passengers affected by flight cancellations are being notified through the contact details provided upon booking. They may also check the status of their flights through the Manage Booking portal in the Cebu Pacific web site, https://book.cebupacificair.com/Manage/Retrieve/.
CEB offered affected passengers these options:
- Rebook the flight (new flight date within 30 days of original travel date);
- Refund the tickets in full;
- Store the value of the ticket in a Travel Fund for future use.