Philippine Airlines plans to resume some flights in May

Philippine Airlines said it is planning to resume some international and domestic flights on select routes in May.

The Filipino flag carrier said it plans to operate a number of weekly flights to Japan, the US (including Guam), Canada, Australia, the UK, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea in May.

The airline said it will announce the list of operating flights “as soon as possible” in an updated travel advisory on its website once the details have been finalised.

Philippine Airlines said it will not operate any flights to and from the following destinations in May: Auckland, New York JFK, Dubai, Doha, Perth, Melbourne, Port Moresby and Sapporo.

“However, we caution you that these plans are highly subject to change, depending on COVID-19 conditions: the duration of community quarantines, the status of travel bans and restrictions imposed by various governments and their impact on passenger demand, and above all on the public health and safety situation in each of the countries that PAL serves,” said the airline in a statement on its website.

For the rest of April, Philippine Airlines said it will not operate any international or domestic flights, as the Philippine government has extended the Luzon Enhanced Community Quarantine until April 30, according to CNN Philippines.

The airline said it will continue to operate occasional special flights to fly stranded passengers home or carry cargo shipments to keep “critical supply chains” across the Philippines and within the Asia-Pacific region intact in April and May.

One-off special flights from Canada to Manila

Philippine Airlines said it will fly two special flights, one from Toronto and the other from Vancouver, to Manila on April 14 using an Airbus A350 aircraft.

The airline said these one-off flights are allowed to carry only Filipinos, their foreign spouse and children, as well as accredited officials of foreign governments and international organisations.

Details of the flights are as follows:

Route	Flight no.	Departs	Arrives
Vancouver-Manila	PR117	2310	0340 (+2)
Toronto-Manila	PR119	2330	0350 (+2)

Many airlines around the world have suspended most or even all of their services due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Philippine Airlines said it “has never experienced a complete disruption of this scale, with the exception of World War II” in its nearly 80 years of operation.

The airline advises travellers to check its website or follow its social media accounts to receive the latest updates.

Source: PAL website