MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Tuesday allowed domestic flights going to Davao and more airports to operate, namely Clark International Airport Project (CIAP) and Mactan International Airport, amid the eased restrictions of the general community quarantine (GCQ).
“Bago ho itong linggo, concentrated tayo sa NAIA [Ninoy Aquino International Airport] Teminal 1, 2, and 3. Ngayong umaga, ginamit yung CIAP. Nung sabado, nabanggit sa congressional hearing at sa publiko na bubuksan na yung Mactan International Airport at nagumpisa na,” Transportation chief Arthur Tugade Jr. said in a press briefing in Clark, Pampanga.
(Before this week, our operations were concentrated at NAIA Terminals 1, 2, and 3. This morning, the CIAP was operational. Last Saturday, it was announced that Mactan International Airport had started its operations.)
“Ngayong araw na ito, sa aming pakikipag-ugnayan sa local government unit [LGUs] ng Davao maguumpisa na yung domestic flight,” he added.
(Today, with our coordination with Davao LGU, domestic flights will start operating there.)
Tugade said they are also coordinating with other LGUs to open domestic flights to Zamboanga, General Santos City, and Iloilo City.
“Ito ang kabuuan kung san ma-de-decongest niyo sa passenger traffic sa NAIA na kung san sa paguwi sa mananakay ay mapapabilis,” he said.
(This is our plan to decongest passenger traffic at NAIA so that passengers can speed up their travel time going home.)
The government’s interagency task force for COVID-19 efforts has allowed domestic flights to operate during GCQ but had set rules to allow LGUs to create their own standards and reject arrival of flights.