Flights to Manila cancelled for at least a week

TDT | Manama

Travel to Manila has been put off for at least a week after the Philippine government announced yesterday the suspension of all inbound international commercial flights. National carrier Gulf Air is currently operating one flight per week, every Saturday, to the Philippine capital. The airline confirmed last night that this week’s flight is cancelled due to the suspension, which came into effect yesterday.

The temporary suspension was issued because coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantine facilities in Metro Manila, intended to accommodate Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) returning to the country, are nearly full.

The Philippine government currently requires all OFWs flying home to undergo a 14-day quarantine period upon their arrival, and before being able to reunite with their families. This is part of the country’s measures being taken to help further mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This decision is meant to decongest our quarantine facilities to protect our people by preventing the further spread of COVID-19 and also ensure that our OFWs are well taken care of when they arrive from abroad,” the Philippines’ National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. was quoted as saying.

“As of today, there are already approximately 20,000 OFWs undergoing mandatory quarantine in Metro Manila. The new flight restriction is only temporary and will be implemented for one week to give the government the opportunity to decongest the quarantine facilities.”

Certain other inbound and outbound international commercial flights will be allowed, with approval from authorities and under certain conditions.

“The move is deemed necessary in order to ensure that our country will not experience a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the increasing number of international passenger arrivals,” the Department of Transportation said in a statement.

According to reports, one of the last flights out of Manila yesterday, right after the suspension was announced, was a Gulf Air flight that landed earlier in the day carrying OFWs from Bahrain. It departed one hour later.