Legarda welcomes NAIA-Antique PAL flight to bring home LSIs

Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda welcomed the news that Philippine Airlines (PAL) will fly to Antique Airport via Ninoy Aquino International Airport to bring home locally-stranded individuals (LSIs) while ensuring that the provincial government will monitor and coordinate with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and PAL for the strict implementation of health measures and safety protocols.

“As most parts of the country start to ease restrictions on movements, Antique Airport is ready to serve not just my kasimanwa who wish to come home or fly back to Manila for work and attend to their respective businesses, but it will also accommodate those passengers from neighboring provinces. The flight will be from Manila to Antique and vice versa, which will be more convenient and accessible to most passengers,” Legarda said.

“We will make sure that both the airport authorities, the airline crew, and the passengers fully comply with the safety measures aimed at preventing health risks to the aviation employees, the passengers, and the general public. While it is great news that commercial flights with PAL are now ready to operate under the new normal, let us not be complacent because we are still in the midst of the pandemic. We are still working on flattening the curve to ensure that our country will be 100% safe from the infectious disease,” Legarda added.

In coordination with the Office of Deputy Speaker Legarda and the provincial government of Antique, PAL has scheduled a special flight to Antique Airport from the NAIA Terminal and vice versa on June 28, Sunday. Passengers will be required to follow enhanced safety measures such as the mandatory wearing of facemasks, protective gears, physical distancing, and proper hygiene protocols at the airport and all throughout the flight. On the part of the airlines, PAL has declared in their previous statements that they will implement mandatory rapid testing of their crew and who will also be wearing full personal protective equipment in all flights.

Moreover, Legarda stated that in support for the One Panay movement, Antique will continue to strengthen its commitment and strong collaboration with neighboring provinces in Panay Region to come up with effective measures to revive the socio-economic needs of the provinces without compromising the safety and health of the people. While all highways will be accessible to all commuters, regular check points will still be maintained as part of the harmonized border control of One Panay movement.

“This pandemic has crippled the aviation industry, which Antique’s local economy and tourism industry also rely on. I certainly hope that this partnership with PAL will continue to flourish and that we can schedule more NAIA-Antique flights soon. As we again open our province to PAL flights, we are also hoping that Antique will gradually catch up from all the losses that this crisis has brought upon our people,” Legarda concluded.

It was through Deputy Speaker Legarda’s efforts that PAL started servicing direct flights to Antique from Clark International Airport three times weekly, prior to the implementation of the community quarantine. On December 16, 2018, PAL had its inaugural flight to the newly renovated and reopened Antique airport in San Jose de Buenavista, the capital town of Antique.***