Kalibo International Airport to open on July 1 for commercial flights from Manila

KALIBO, Aklan - The Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 has allowed the Kalibo International Airport (KIA) to open for commercial domestic flights from Manila starting July 1 to ferry locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning overseas Filipinos.

Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores signed Executive Order No. 28 on Friday, paving the way for the resumption of commercial Manila-Kalibo flights at the airport on the said date.

In the EO, Miraflores directed airlines to give the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines copies of their manifests bearing the names, complete addresses and contact numbers of the passengers. These are to be submitted at least two days before departure from point of origin.

Passengers are also required to present before booking their flight the following:

• medical certificate from a government physician;
• travel authority from the Philippine National Police; and 
• health declaration card

The health declaration card may also be accomplished upon check-in.

Only two flights a week will be allowed per airline.

The airlines allowed to have Manila-Kalibo flights and back are Philippine Airlines/PAL Express, Cebu Pacific Air and Air Asia.

Miraflores said the airlines may ferry passengers on the return flight to Manila from Kalibo regardless of whether they are locally stranded individuals, authorized persons outside residence, returning overseas Filipinos or any individual as long as they can present a medical certificate from a government health facility.

The governor also said KIA should implement the No Health Declaration Card-No Exit policy at the arrival terminal.

Operations at the  KIA were temporarily halted in the past months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With commercial flights allowed soon, the government is optimistic the economy and tourism in the province will be revitalized.

Aklan is currently COVID-19-free after no new cases were reported in the past two weeks. —Jun N. Aguirre/KG, GMA News