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| NAIA was empty today except for a few security personnel |
All commercial flights to and from all international
airports in the Philippines
This means, aircraft carrying commercial passengers are no
longer being allowed to land or take off from the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport (NAIA) in Manila , as well as the
airports in Davao , Iloilo ,
Puerto Princesa in Palawan, Cebu , and Kalibo
in Aklan.
The decision to shut the airports was posted in the NAIA
Facebook page at 11:50 of May 2, barely eight hours before the lockdown was due
to take effect.
The move comes as the total number of infections in the Philippines
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| Covid-19 tally as of May 3 |
According to a subsequent announcement from Secretary Carlito
Galvez, chief implementer of the National Task Force against Covid-19, the
airport closure is intended to free up space in the quarantine
centers.
“The new flight restriction is only temporary and will be
implemented for one week to give the government the opportunity to decongest
the quarantine facilities in Metro Manila,” said the statement issued by his
office.
All returning overseas Filipino workers, mostly seafarers
who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic, are being put in the
quarantine camps which are scattered across Metro Manila and nearby cities in
Luzon, for 14 days.
“This decision is meant to decongest our quarantine
facilities to protect our people by preventing the further spread of Covid-19 and
also ensure that our…OFWs are well taken care of when they arrive from abroad,”
said the statement.
Strangely, other Filipino nationals who are not OFWs are
being allowed to go to their homes on arrival at NAIA.
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| Only OFWs are put in quarantine centers as soon as they arrive in the Philippines |
The flight ban does not apply (1) when an emergency occurs
en route; (2) to cargo flights, (3) air ambulance and medical supplies flights,
(4) weather tracking flights, (5) maintenance flights, and (6) sweeper flights
for foreign nationals being repatriated to their home countries.
On top of this,
all exempted international flights that wish to land or depart must request exemption
with the civil aeronautics authority at least 36 hours before the scheduled
departure from their place of origin.
The statement said further updates will be provided by the
NTF and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious
Diseases (IATF-EID).
