Cebu Pacific (PSE: CEB), the Philippines’ leading carrier, safely brought home 217 Filipinos from Dubai recently, via special commercial flight 5J 27, in response to the government’s call for assistance to repatriate workers who were stranded due to the travel restriction.
This was the seventh CEB-arranged Bayanihan flight that was mounted with the approval of the Philippine government’s special working group. The government imposed in May a travel ban to the United Arab Emirates to curb the spread of COVID-19 and its variants.
Aside from meal and baggage allowance upgrades, passengers on this flight received gift packs from Universal Robina Corporation (URC).
Passengers on Bayanihan flights must comply with strict protocols, including a negative RT-PCR test result taken 48 hours before departure; a pre-booked, 15-day/14-night stringent facility-based quarantine stay upon arrival; and another swab test to be taken seven (7) days after arrival.
The cost of the quarantine hotel stays of OFWs (Overseas Filipinos Workers) and the RT-PCR tests on the seventh day will be shouldered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) or the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), while returning overseas Filipinos will cover their own hotel and RT-PCR test costs.
CEB has coordinated with hotels accredited by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) to ensure that there are adequate facilities for passengers arriving on this flight.
The accredited hotels for this flight are Axiaa Hotel, Go Hotels North Edsa, Go Hotels Timog, Manila Diamond Hotel, and Marriott Hotel.
“We are grateful to be given the opportunity to continue offering our services to our kababayans at this time,” said Alex Reyes, Chief Strategy Officer at Cebu Pacific. “We want to help the government to safely bring home more Filipinos.”
CEB has brought home more than 2,000 Filipinos from the Middle East via special commercial flights since July 2021. CEB has also operated DFA-organized repatriation flights, flying home more than 1,700 Filipinos from Oman, Dubai, India, and Vietnam.
CEB operates the widest domestic network in the Philippines covering 31 destinations, on top of its eight (8) international destinations. Its 74-strong fleet, one of the youngest in the world, includes two (2) dedicated ATR freighters and one (1) A330 freighter.
