Flag carrier Philippine Airlines is offering COVID-19 Antigen tests as its early Christmas gifts to air travelers going from Manila to General Santos beginning Monday until Dec. 17.
PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said the local government of General Santos required negative antigen test results from travelers or visitors.
Antigen tests, an alternative to Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests, are an important tool in the overall response against the coronavirus disease and provide results in minutes.
To avail themselves of the free testing, passengers must register via PAL’s testing partner’s booking portal at bit.ly/PALHMIRegForm.
Villaluna said travelers to Gen San via PAL must be at the Antigen testing center at PAL Gate 3, 1300 Andrews Avenue, Pasay City two to six hours before their flight. The testing center is open from 12:01 a.m. to 4 a.m. every Monday and Thursday.
Antigen testing may be carried out via drive-thru or walk-in.
Passengers are encouraged to arrive at the testing center as early as possible for faster processing.
Results are released within 30 minutes and travelers may avail themselves of the free PAL shuttle service to the airport.
Passengers to GenSan may opt to undergo a full RT-PCR Test at their own expense instead, through PAL’s Testing Facility at the PAL Learning Center in Ermita, Manila, or through the carrier’s accredited testing partners. RT-PCR tests for General Santos are valid within 72 hours from departure time.
They may also opt to undergo Antigen testing at other accredited laboratory and testing facilities.
PAL flies to General Santos City every Monday and Thursday departing from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport – Terminal 2 at 6:25 a.m.
