Return of HK, Macau flights: Local airlines worry over crew’s required quarantine

MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines —Local airlines worry about their crew being subjected to the 14-day mandatory quarantine should they resume flights in Hong Kong and Macau following the lifting of travel ban for overseas Filipino workers, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Ed Monreal said Tuesday.

Monreal said the resources of the airlines’ crew will be reduced should they undergo the recommended quarantine after a flight to or from Hong Kong and Macau.

“Yung mga local carriers naman po, ang challenge po nila and I think that is being studied now by the inter-agency task force, is yung pagqquarantine ng mga crew. It will take a toll on their operational requirements pagka hindi po naresolve yun,” Monreal said in a press briefing.

(The local carriers’ challenge, which I think is already being studied by the inter-agency task force, is the crew’s quarantine. It will take a toll on their operational requirements if that is left unresolved.)

“Kasi kung kasama ho sila sa quarantine, every time lilipad sila sa China, Hong Kong at Macau, ay definitely pagbalik dito ika-quarantine sila for 14 days. As we go on, yung resources ng crew ay mababawasan po,” Monreal added.

(If they will be included in those who will be quarantined, every time they flight to China, Hong Kong or Macau, the crew will be quarantined for 14 days. As we go on, the resources of the crew will be depleted.)

While the matter is already being studied by the inter-agency task force on coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Monreal said the mandatory quarantine for the crew will make it harder for local airlines to mount more inbound and outbound Hong Kong and Macau flights.

“Kung ganon po ang proseso na meron pa ho silang quarantine, yung mga crew, medyo mahihirapan po sila mag mount ng flights dito kahit may temporary lifting ng ban ng mga pasahero,” Monreal said.

(If the process is that the crew will also undergo quarantine, the local airlines will have a hard time mounting flights even though there’s already a temporary lifting of the ban [for OFWs in Hong Kong and Macau].)

OFWs have been exempted from the travel ban the government has imposed on Hong Kong and Macau.

Filipino workers and their foreign spouses or children, and holders of diplomatic visas have been allowed to enter the country subject to a 14-day quarantine as recommended by the Department of Health.

Edited by JPV