PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific (CEB) said they are working toward normalizing flights to Hong Kong and Macau to enable stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the country to return to their respective jobs in those two Special Administrative Regions (SAR) of China.
PAL said the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and the Airline Operators Council (AOC) are now discussing ways to normalize as soon as possible their operations to and from Hong Kong and Macau.
Flights out of Manila to Hong Kong and Macau were disrupted after the government imposed the travel ban that includes the Filipino pilots and cabin crew amid the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The Hong Kong government had asked Philippine officials to lift the travel ban.
Meanwhile, the local carriers said passengers may book with other carriers while they are discussing ways for the flights to resume.
On Wednesday, the group of licensed recruitment agencies deploying household service workers to the SAR welcomed the government’s decision to lift the travel ban for new hires and returning workers, as announced by Health Secretary Dr. Francisco Duque.
“Those 10,000 overseas Filipino workers and new hires comprising around 3,000 and some the 7,000 vacationing re-hires who have been waiting for their flights to Hong Kong are relieved and happy that they will now be able to join their new employers. The OFWs would be able to resume their household chores immediately,” Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters to the Philippines (SHARP) President Alfredo Palmiery said.
He said SHARP will distribute to the returning Filipino migrant workers travel kits with a bottle of disinfectant alcohol, a face mask, tissue, soap and a primer for protection against health risks and avoiding COVID-19 virus while in Hong Kong.
With respect to the additional re-quirement imposed by the Task Force that departing Filipinos should sign a document stating that they understand the risks involved in their departure for Hong Kong, Palmiery said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration should come out with a standard document.
“That way, the declaration would be a uniform document and would be the standard for Hong Kong and SAR-bound OFWs.”
Image credits: Nonie Reyes