PAL cancels Manila-Riyadh flights on June 30, 2021

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Wednesday canceled flights between Manila and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, due to prevailing travel restrictions.

In an advisory, PAL said the June 30 flights PR5654 from Manila to Riyadh and PR5655 from Riyadh to Manila were both canceled due to a government order restricting operations to and from the Riyadh airport.

“We apologize for the inconvenience, as we had to cancel the flight at very short notice, immediately upon receiving the notice of the restriction,” the advisory read.

Passengers of the canceled flights can choose to either convert their tickets to a travel voucher, avail of unlimited rebooking until December 31, 2021, or refund the tickets without penalties.

The Philippines has extended the ban on inbound travel from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Oman, Pakistan, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates until July 15. Overseas Filipino workers are exempted from such ban.

PAL was named among the top 10 safest airlines in August 2020 when it comes to safety for travel amid the pandemic, according to the Safe Travel Barometer. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/KBK, GMA News