When the pandemic hit and travel restrictions were put in place, a lot of Filipinos got stranded abroad. To help bring Filipinos home, a lot of repatriation flights were initiated. Since July 2021, Cebu Pacific , the Philippines’ leading carrier, has operated special commercial flights that brought home more than 2,000 Filipinos from the Middle East. They have also operated DFA-organized repatriation flights and brought home more than 1,700 Filipinos from Oman, Dubai, India, and Vietnam.

Recently, Cebu Pacific took action on the government’s call for assistance to repatriate Filipinos from Dubai. Cebu Pacific mounted special commercial flight 5J27 and brought home 217 Filipinos. This was Cebu Pacific’s seventh Bayanihan flight that was done with the approval of the Philippine government’s special working group.

All the passengers on this flight were given meal and baggage allowance upgrades and gift packs from Universal Robina Corporation. Cebu Pacific also coordinated with hotels accredited by the Bureau of Quarantine to make sure that all passengers on this flight would have a quarantine hotel to stay in. The returning Filipinos from this flight are accommodated by the following BOQ-accredited hotels: Axiaa Hotel, Go Hotels North Edsa, Go Hotels Timog, Manila Diamond Hotel, and Marriott Hotel.

“We are grateful to be given the opportunity to continue offering our services to our kababayans at this time,” shares Alex Reyes, CEB Chief Strategy Officer.

Strict protocols are implemented for the passengers of Bayanihan flights. They are required to present a negative RT-PCR test result taken 48 hours before departure and have a pre-booked 15-day/14-night stringent facilty-based quarantine upon arrival. They are also subject for another swab test seven days after their arrival.

For Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), the whole duration of the quarantine hotel stay and the RT-PCR test that will be taken a week after their arrival will be shouldered by Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) or the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).