The government has decided to temporarily hold off all commercial flights to and from the country beginning 8 a.m. yesterday.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the the National Task Force Against COVID-19, said the decision was made to mitigate the spread of the virus and free up space in quarantine facilities where thousands of repatriated overseas Filipino workers undergo mandatory isolation.
“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 overseas Filipino workers are well taken care of when they arrive from abroad,” Galvez said.
At present, he said, around 20,000 OFWs were being housed in quarantine facilities in Metro Manila before they are allowed to go back to their place of origin.
More than 1,700 OFWs have so far been infected with COVID-19, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Galvez said only the following flight operations are allowed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and all other international airports in the country: Emergencies while enroute; cargo flights; air ambulance and medical supplies flights; weather mitigation flights; and maintenance flights.
The government has also allowed sweeper flights for foreign nationals who are being sent back to their countries to continue.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said all international flights wishing to land and depart must request an exemption with the CAAP Operations Center at least 36 hours before the scheduled departure from their place of origin.
“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 in Metro Manila,” Galvez said.
The new order from the NTF COVID-19 came more than a week after President Duterte extended the enhanced community quarantine in parts of Luzon until May 15, including Metro Manila, that are considered high-risk areas or where there is a high number of virus infections.
On the other hand, low-risk areas or those with low number of virus infections were placed under a general community quarantine. (Martin A. Sadongdong)
