Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) facilitated six sweeper flights mounted by several local and international carriers on Friday, airlifting stranded foreign passengers and Filipinos back to Manila from Cebu.
Cebu Pacific (CEB) mounted three sweeper flights that picked up stranded foreign tourists who spent several weeks in Cebu due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Another flight, 5J 571, departed Naia at 10 a.m. also on Friday to airlift another stranded batch of Filipinos and foreigners who are residents of Cebu.
Air Asia Philippines flight Z2 186 left Naia around 3 p.m. Friday bound for Kansai, Japan to ferry stranded Japanese tourists caught by the lockdown in Manila.
Meanwhile, a chartered plane of Lanmei Airlines (LQ 9770) landed at Naia on Friday, loaded with Filipinos who were stranded in Cambodia. The plane’s turn around flight, LQ 9771, departed Naia in the late afternoon to transport Cambodians back to Phnom Penh.
40,000 Pinoy seafarers bound for home
In a related development, some 40,000 Filipino seafarers who remain stranded on cruise ships in the US, are expected to arrive in Manila starting next week up to June by air and sea.
The Filipino seafarers, along with their foreign counterparts are quarantined on at least 50 cruise ships floating in US waters, according to recruitment expert Manny Geslani.
He said the Filipino crewmen have been at sea for the past two months and are expected to arrive in Manila by the middle of May up to June after cruise operators succeeded in chartering flights, while the rest remain on board to sail to Manila.
According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), the seafarers are stuck in their cabin and not allowed to leave since the passengers disembarked.
“There’s no natural light, some are stuck right at the bottom of the ship, while others stay in passenger cabins with balcony. They’ve lost their jobs and they’re very scared about the future,” Geslani said.
The key issue is repatriation as the CDC does not want crew men to board commercial flights fearing the spread of Covid-19.
“A lot of cruise companies are choosing to keep their ships at sea with tens of thousands of staff. Many are sick. Many are dying. And the situation is only getting worse,” Geslani said.
Meanwhile Royal Caribbean is preparing a major plan for the repatriation of thousands of its crew men back to their home countries.
Michael Bayley, president and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean International, told the crewmen in a latter that their repatriation would be carried out by their cruise ships, including available charter flights.
Harmony of the Seas, meanwhile, will sail to Barbados, where Royal Caribbean have asked a charter company to airlift Filipino seafarers to Manila every three days, starting May 11.
Liberty of the Seas, for its part, will stay near Miami to airlift the Filipino crewmen by charter flights starting May 18.
Carnival ships, with about 25,000 Filipinos on board, are in the process of transferring crewmen to other ships that will sail to Asia, Europe and China.
Filipinos on board Carnival ships docked in Miami will board charter flights starting May 11 “as soon as the Naia opens this week for charter flights,” the local manning agency said.
Image credits: Mirko Vitali | Dreamstime.com
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