PAL Halts Int’l Flights from March 26 to April 14

The continuing challenges brought by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) to the airline industry have prompted flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) to suspend temporarily its international flights from March 26 until April 14.

“On March 18, when the government lifted the suspension on international flights, we announced that international operations would continue but with limited flights due to travel restrictions of specific countries and expected reductions in passenger demand,” PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said Tuesday night.

Villaluna said with the reduced flights, PAL has observed a substantial number of no-show passengers for outbound and inbound flights.

“This lowered passenger demand for travel within this period makes it necessary to temporarily suspend flights,” she said.

In an advisory, the carrier announced that some flights would continue to arrive in Manila from Los Angeles, Narita, and Jakarta on March 26; and from New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles on March 27.

“Our firm goal is to resume operations starting April 15, if warranted by Philippine and international authorities, global public health conditions, and the travel environment,” the advisory read.

On March 17, PAL also halted its domestic flight operations when the entire Luzon was placed under a month-long enhanced community quarantine to limit the spread of the deadly disease. (PNA)