THE country’s three main airlines announced massive flight cancellations once the 72-hour window imposed by government ends, following the declaration of a Luzon-wide lockdown to stop mass transmission of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Legacy carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it has canceled all domestic flights “effective immediately until April 12, but flights will resume the following day, April 13, 2020.”
PAL issued the advisory “in compliance with the government’s enhanced community quarantine measure over the Luzon, including Metro Manila.”
“We continue to operate
international flights up to midnight of March 20, 2020,” PAL said in a
statement, adding it will announce in due course the status of its
international flights from March 20 up to April 12.
PAL said it is coordinating with government authorities on the relevant implementing details and will comply with the travel restrictions and quarantine rules.
The carrier said its Manila Airport ticket office at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, will remain open from 2 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily, seven days a week. “However, all other PAL ticket offices in Metro Manila will be closed to comply with the quarantine directives.”
For travel and ticketing concerns, the public may call the Hotline at (63 2) 8855-8888.
“We respectfully request you to consider deferring any requests for rebooking until after April 12, 2020, in view of the strict social distancing required by the quarantine measures,” the carrier said.
PAL added it expects a high volume of queries and transactions at its ticketing office and hotline, “and we ask you to bear with us as we deal with the challenge of handling an unprecedented number of canceled flights over this quarantine period.”
“Please note that this is a developing situation, and the quarantine rules are subject to periodic review by the Philippine government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for Covid-19,” PAL said.
Cebu Pacific
Cebu Pacific and Cebgo flights will be canceled from March 19 until April 14, 2020.
Cebu Pacific said it wants to ensure the safety of passengers and operations teams, “in compliance with the stricter quarantine measures, land travel restrictions and regulations in place.”
In this connection, CEB said its last day of operations will be on March 18, 2020, and advised pasengers to check the flight status through bit.ly/CEBflight-status.
These options may be processed online via the “Manage Booking” portal in the Cebu Pacific website.
For the health and safety of passengers and personnel, all Cebu Pacific Ticket offices will be closed from March 19 to April 14, 2020.
Concerns may be relayed to Cebu Pacific via bit.ly/CEBrequest, or the customer hotlines through bit.ly/CustomerHotlines.
AirAsia
Due to the government’s travel restrictions, AirAsia said on Tuesday it is cancelling all its domestic flights to or from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and to or from the Clark International Airport until 14 April.
International flights from both airports will also be cancelled starting March 20 until April 14.
Meantime, AirAsia said its domestic and international flights from its other hubs in the Philippines–Cebu and Kalibo–have similarly been cancelled, dates of which follow directives of respective local government units.
Guests may check on their flights via the “Flight Status” function, as well as available flights, on the airasia.com website and mobile app.
AirAsia’s special recovery services from Puerto Princesa to Clark will still push through as announced.
All affected guests will be promptly notified via email or SMS. AirAsia encouraged guests to update their contact details using the “My Bookings” feature on airasia.com to ensure that they receive timely notifications.
AirAsia said it is making provisions for guests affected by the flight cancellations and travel restrictions following the Philippine government’s latest directive, through: a one-time flight change; a credit account; or a full refund.
Previously set-up emergency help desks will be discontinued to comply with the government’s directive of an enhanced community quarantine.
Guests are also advised that changes to travel plans may be made with AirAsia even after the community quarantine period. For their convenience, guests may utilize AirAsia’s online support team and visit AirAsia’s office as needed once restrictions have been lifted.
Noting the higher-than-usual volume of queries and requests following the Covid-19 outbreak, the airline assured it will “continue to do all we can to best assist any guest affected by a disrupted service during this period and thank them for their patience.”