(February 12, 2020) — Philippine Airlines (PAL) extended its cancellation of flights from China, Hong Kong, and Macau until March 28 an advisory said Monday.
According to PAL, flights between Manila and Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Quanzhou (Jinjiang), Hong Kong, and Macau will remain cancelled.
“We are compelled to cancel these flights until March 28 in view of the continuing travel restrictions imposed by the Philippine Government as a public health and safety measure, related to the novel coronavirus situation,” the advisory read.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Feb. 2 ordered a ban on the entry of foreign travelers coming directly from China, Hong Kong and Macau or who have a history of travel to those places within the last 14 days. Filipinos and holders of permanent resident visas issued by the Philippines are allowed to enter the country but subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Filipinos are also barred from flying to those places.
“As there is no definite end date to the travel ban and thus no certainty that we may resume flying after March 28, we are unable to carry out automatic flight re-accommodations for passengers of cancelled flights.”
Once the travel ban is lifted and the flights are reinstated, passengers can “rebook, reroute, or refund tickets within the ticket’s validity period, with rebooking, rerouting, or refund serve fees waived,” the statement said.
The airline was mum about flights to Taiwan. On Monday, Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said Taiwan has been included in the temporary travel ban, although it was enforced late last week and was not part of Duterte's initial order.
Domingo pointed out that the World Health Organization considers Taiwan as part of China. The Philippines also follows a "One-China" policy that recognizes China and limits relations with Taiwan to cultural and economic ties.
China considers the self-administered island of Taiwan as its province.
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