Officials at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) have confirmed that the repatriation of OFWs will continue at its airport until the yearend.
The announcement has come amidst travel restrictions imposed by some countries due to the emergence of the latest Covid-19 variant Omicron.
In a first, two Philippine Airlines (PAL) aircraft arrived at the Subic airport within two hours of each other on Sunday to bring home two more batches of OFWs from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, both cities in the UAE.
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The recent arrivals brought the OFW flights via Subic to a total of 42 and the passengers coming in through the Subic airport since July this year to a total of 11,410.
At least 10 OFW flights to the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) have been scheduled this month under the government’s repatriation program despite concerns about the virus variant spreading in some African and European countries, SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma reportedly said.
“OFWs continue to be repatriated through Subic, and everything’s as normal as when the program started here in July,” Eisma added.
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“We can be assured that no passengers will be brought here from any red-listed country because the government has prohibited the inbound international travel of all persons from red-list areas regardless of vaccination status,” Eisma stressed.
Eisma highlighted that the OFW repatriation program here is being handled carefully by the Department of Transportation, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and Bureau of Quarantine. (AW)
