PAL to suspend all remaining international flights starting March 26

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced Tuesday it will be suspending its remaining international flights as it struggles to operate amid travel restrictions and reduced demand in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We regret to advise that all remaining Philippine Airlines international flights will be suspended temporarily, starting from 26 March 2020, Thursday until 14 April 2020,” PAL said in an advisory.

The carrier’s domestic flights had ceased to operate as of March 17, 2020. 

PAL said that after “careful consideration” it decided that it could no longer sustain even a limited number of international flights due to the strict travel and entry restrictions imposed by more and more countries; collapse in demand for travel; and continuing challenges in staffing its Manila airport hub during the ongoing lockdown. 

“Accordingly, our last flight to depart from Manila this week will be PR 104 bound for San Francisco at 10:10 p.m. on March 25,” it said.

“Several flights will continue to arrive in Manila on March 26 from Los Angeles, Tokyo Narita and Jakarta, and on March 27 from New York JFK, San Francisco and Los Angeles,” it said.

The flag carrier said it is targeting to resume operations starting April 15, 2020, “if warranted by Philippine and international authorities, global public health conditions and the travel environment.”

PAL said it will shift focus to conserving its resources in anticipation of recovery and caring for the needs of its members, “while we keep our fleet ready for the day that we resume flying.”

“We shall continue to make aircraft and service personnel available for special flights to retrieve stranded passengers as well as cargo flights to keep intact critical supply chains across our islands,” it said.

“The global crisis is monumental in scale, but we are confident that we can all join together and work to overcome the challenges, and that your flag carrier will soon be back in the air to again link our beautiful country together and connect us with the world,” it added. — LA, GMA News