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MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) advised passengers with canceled flights to South Korea that they may request to rebook, reroute or refund their tickets following the recent travel restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Pasahero na naapektuhan sa travel restrictions, maaring magrebook, refund, reroute na walang ipapataw na charge,” PAL spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna said over dzMM on Thursday.
(Passengers that are affected by the travel ban may rebook, refund and reroute without any additional charge.)
Villaluna said affected passengers may inquire more details through PAL’s hotline (+632 8855-8888) or go to the nearest ticketing office of PAL. Rebooking of tickets may be done until June 30 this year, Villaluna said.
This came after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Disease (IATF) ordered travel restrictions for Filipino tourists going to South Korea as a COVID-19 precautionary measure.
Only permanent residents of South Korea, Filipinos studying in South Korea and overseas Filipino workers returning for work are allowed to go to the said country but they will need to “sign a written declaration acknowledging the risks involved which will be complemented with a health advisory pamphlet.”
The government’s task force also include a ban for passengers from North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea including Daegu City and Cheongdo County.
However, Filipinos and their foreign spouses or children and holders of permanent resident and diplomatic visas are exempted from the travel ban but they are mandated to undergo screening and quarantine protocols.
Villaluna said the airline has 14 flights weekly between Manila and Incheon, South Korea and seven flights weekly between Manila and Busan, South Korea.
South Korea has the second highest number of confirmed cases of the deadly virus with 1,595. Of the number, most of the cases were from Daegu City. Mainland China remains the hardest-hit by the coronavirus with 78,497 cases.