6 PAL flights with returning OFWs to be rerouted to Subic airport

The Subic Bay International Airport will accommodate this month at least six rerouted Philippine Airlines flights carrying mostly overseas Filipino workers from Dammam, Saudi Arabia. (Photo courtesy of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority)

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT––Six Philippine Airlines (PAL) flights, carrying mostly overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia, are scheduled to land at the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) this month, officials said Friday, July 2.

The rerouted flights are under a government program that facilitates the return of overseas Filipinos amid the pandemic, said Wilma Eisma, chair and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), in a statement.

Eisma said the first batch would arrive Monday, July 5. Each PAL Airbus A330 flight will have an average of 230 passengers.

Arriving passengers will be quarantined for seven to 10 days in local hotels and accommodation facilities accredited by the Department of Tourism and certified by the Bureau of Quarantine, she said.

“The arrival of OFWs via Subic is in line with the policy of the Civil Aeronautics Board to impose a limit for all international airports in the country to accommodate just 1,500 passengers per day,” Eisma said.

PAL has distributed its flights to various airports to accommodate the market under its recovery plan, Eisma added. INQ

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