MANILA, Philippines — Some 177 Chinese who were stuck at the airport following the implementation of the travel ban have managed to leave the country Wednesday evening, the Bureau of Immigration said Wednesday.
The Chinese were not able to leave the country due to the travel ban imposed last Feb. 2.
BI spokesperson Dana Krizia Mengote-Sandoval said a total of 177 Chinese left Wednesday at 9:06 p.m. onboard Flight no RW410 Royal Air from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
“The 177 Chinese nationals who wished to return to their homelands were able to depart via a chartered flight,” said Sandoval.
These individuals entered the country prior to the imposition of travel ban to and from mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau last Feb. 2 and sought help from the Chinese embassy when they failed to secure a flight back to their homeland.
“They were experiencing difficulty in booking tickets because there were no longer any outbound flights. The airlines have cancelled commercial flight (to and from Manila and China),” she said.
“This might be the first batch of Chinese nationals who want to go home,” she added.
Sandoval said it was possible that there might be other future chartered flights back to China but this information would come from the Chinese Embassy.
The chartered flight was paid for by the Chinese government.
Sandoval said it was a common practice of countries to assist their nationals trapped in other countries and want to return home. There had been instances that even the Philippines provided similar assistance to some of its overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).