International flights bound to Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) will be re-routed to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) starting on Saturday (May 29), in accordance with the issued memorandum on Thursday (May 27) signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque explained on Friday (May 28) that the lack of quarantine rooms in Cebu’s designated hotels caused the rerouting of flights, not because of the province’s defiance of the nationwide implementation of testing and quarantine protocols for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and overseas Filipinos (OFs).
READ MORE: http://152.42.253.13/mactan-airport-isinara-muna-sa-international-flights/
”Wala naman po sigurong defiance. Ang nangyari po sa Cebu, naubusan po talaga sila ng hotel at ngayon lang po inaprubahan ng DOT na magkaroon ng mixed use sa kanilang mga hotels. So habang inaayos lang po natin yung arrival protocols at bago po itong memorandum na ito ay nagsara na ng dalawang araw yung Cebu International Airport dahil wala na nga po silang mga hotels na paglalagyan ng mga dumadating na OFWs at Overseas Filipinos, habang inaayos lang po ‘yan, ire-reroute muna ang mga flights.”
Secretary Roque added that while the flights are currently re-routed to Manila, the inbound passengers are to be quarantined before letting them travel to Cebu.
In relation to this, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said it is prepared to serve the passengers in line with the new memorandum. Based on MIAA’s data, around 300 passengers from the international flights arrive in MCIA, therefore, the daily cap of NAIA will increase from around 2,000 passengers to 2,300 per day.
The flight diversion will last until June 5.
Report from Karen Villanda/NGS-rir
