PAL to offer COVID-19 swab testing starting December 1

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is set to offer RT-PCR testing for passengers traveling to and from Manila starting Tuesday, December 1, with test results released within 12 to 24 hours.

In an advisory on Sunday, PAL said it will offer RT-PCR testing at the PAL Learning Center in Ermita, Manila with Detoxicare Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory as its Department of Health (DOH)-accredited partner.

The regular rate is priced at P4,500 from which PAL ticket holders will be given a P500 discount, payable through cash, card, or mobile wallets such as GCash, PayPal, WeChat Pay, or Alipay.

The test may be conducted via drive-thru or walk-in services, and is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with no noon break.

The carrier said passengers who wish to avail of the discount must present their identification cards, PAL ticket, the QR code indicating completed registration on the PAL Passenger Profile, and a health declaration form which may be accessed online through its official website.

All passengers—except for those bound to the United States, Canada, and Australia—will be required to register and accomplish the online passenger profile and health declaration form as early as five days before the departure.

In the meantime, PAL said it has also teamed up with eight other firms with other accredited laboratory and testing facilities to provide passengers with comparative testing fees with over branches available within Metro Manila and other provinces such as Cavite, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Batangas, Iloilo, and Cebu.

A complete list of partner establishments is also available on the carrier's website.

There are currently eight testing partners with more than 50 branches combined, available within Metro Manila and other provinces like Cavite, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Batangas, Iloilo, and Cebu. The testing fee and release of results vary among testing partners.

In August, the Safe Travel Barometer named PAL among the top 10 safest airlines when it comes to safety for travel amid the pandemic. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News