The Philippines has temporarily grounded all flights and has restricted flights headed towards the country as part of its measures to decongest quarantine facilities.
Presidential Peace Adviser and National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. announced the temporary suspension hours earlier, on Sunday May 3.
“The National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 has made the decision to temporarily restrict flight operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila and all other international airports in the country,” Galvez said in a statement, as per a report from the Philippine News Agency.
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Exempted from the flight restriction are emergencies while en route; cargo flights; air ambulance and medical supplies flights; weather mitigation flights; and maintenance flights.
The Philippine News Agency furthered that sweeper flights for foreign nationals repatriating back to their respective countries are also allowed to continue.
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All domestic air arrivals and departures at the NAIA will remain suspended.
“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 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are well taken care of when they arrive from abroad,” he added.
