CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said 135 passengers arrived in Kalibo Thursday morning via Royal Air.
“Ang nangyari po, ang lahat po na naiwang pasahero na dinala dito sa Kalibo, ibabalik nila hanggang Saturday pero yung aircraft pabalik ng Pilipinas, wala nang laman,” Eric Apolonio said in an interview with Radyo INQUIRER, as he confirmed the arrival of 135 passengers Thursday.
(Those passengers who arrived here in Kalibo will be flown out until Saturday, but the aircraft will return to the Philippines empty.)
“Kung may naiwan po, mga tatlo o anim na flights. So marami-rami pa din. Siguro po mga limang daan hanggang anim na raan. Chartered flights po ito,” he added, when asked of the number of passengers that arrived before the lockdown in Wuhan was imposed.
(If there were any left, it’s about three or six flights. There’s still a lot. Maybe it’s about 500 to 600. These are chartered flights.)
Pan Pacific Airlines and Royal Air have already suspended direct flights from Wuhan to Kalibo following the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has already affected more than 400 individuals.
READ: 2 airlines to suspend Wuhan flights from Kalibo after novel coronavirus scare
Apolonio said the two airlines will fly the visitors back to Wuhan from Friday to Saturday.
This was after the airlines asked permission from Wuhan’s airport authorities to fly the passengers back from Kalibo.
“Yung dumating kahapon ay normal flights po yun at wala pang restriction. At inallow ng airport authority makapasok provided may protocols and procedures na sinusunod at wala naman naging problema kaya inallow namin but since nagkaroon na nga ho ng lockdown, ay parang forced repatriation na ang mangyayari dito sa turista natin pumasok dito,” Apolonio said.
(Those who arrived yesterday boarded normal flights and there was no restriction at the time. The airport authority allowed them to enter given that there were protocols and procedures followed. But since a lockdown was imposed, there will be a forced repatriation of the tourists.)
“Base doon sa report nila, they will start carrying out yung mga pasahero today ang estimate po hanggang Saturday, bukas, wala na. Ang naging arrangement po, mula doon sa charter company, nagrequest sila doon sa airport sa Wuhan na yung mga pasahero na nanggaling dito, kailangan maibalik doon,” he explained.
(Based on their report, they will start carrying out the passengers today and is estimated to finish by Saturday. Their arrangement was the charter company requested the airport in Wuhan to return the passengers who arrived here.)
Similar cases of the new virus have reached in the United States, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) assured there is no case of the said virus in the country yet.
READ: DOH: No encounter with family of Chinese man with novel virus in PH