Flag carrier Philippine Airlines on Saturday announced it will not accept in its flights foreign nationals coming from the United States after the government included the US in the list of countries covered by travel restrictions owing to the new coronavirus strain.
PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said beginning Sunday until Jan. 15, the airline will not allow foreign passengers from the US or foreign travelers who have been there within 14 days prior to their planned trips to the Philippines on its flights.
On the other hand, Filipino citizens coming from the US or who have traveled to the US within 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival in the Philippines and are arriving in the country within Jan. 3 to 15 shall be accepted on PAL flights to the Philippines but will be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine at a stringent quarantine facility.
All passengers, whether Filipino citizens or foreign nationals, who are originating from the US or who have traveled to the US within the 14-day period prior to entering the Philippines and are arriving before 12:01 a.m. Jan. 3, 2021 will not be prohibited from entering the country but will have to spend 14 days at a stringent quarantine facility.
Villaluna said passengers allowed to enter the Philippines from the US within those periods must undergo COVID-19 testing on arrival. She added a 14-day quarantine must be completed even if a passenger gets a negative result on the test.
She also said returning overseas Filipinos may choose their own quarantine hotel from the list of hotels accredited by the government for stringent quarantine.
The latest travel ban is mandated by the resolution issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Infectious Diseases as a protective measure against the new variant of the SARS-COV 2 Virus.
This latest restriction brings to 21 the total number of flagged countries. PAL continues to operate flights to Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Canada, and the US subject to existing passenger restrictions.
"PAL will cooperate closely with government authorities in support of all measures that seek to curb any potential increase in COVID-19 cases," said Villaluna.
The new strain has been reported in 20 other countries: United Kingdom, Switzerland, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore, Japan, Germany, Australia, Iceland, South Africa, Italy, Israel, Spain, Netherlands, Lebanon, Canada, Sweden, France, and South Korea.