Airlines cancel Taiwan flights; arriving passengers sent back

MANILA, Philippines — Due to concerns on the spread of the 2019-novel coronavirus (nCoV), local airlines have canceled their flights to and from Taiwan in compliance with the government order expanding the China travel ban.

One flight’s passengers that arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) were barred from entering the country just an hour after the ban was implemented.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), as well as budget carriers Cebu Pacific and AirAsia, suspended yesterday all their flights between Manila and Taiwan.

The three airlines said their Taiwan services are canceled until further notice from the government or until the ban is lifted.

The travel ban on Taiwan follows the same guidelines and procedures as the ban on China, Hong Kong and Macau, which was implemented last Feb. 2.

The expanded directive temporarily bans the entry of any person, regardless of nationality – except Filipino citizens and holders of permanent resident visas issued by the Philippine government – who come directly from Greater China, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, or who had been to China, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan within 14 days prior to their arrival in the Philippines.

The government directive also temporarily bans Filipinos from traveling to points in greater China, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, PAL said it is extending until March 28 the cancellation of its flights between Manila and Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Quanzhou (Jinjiang) and Macau.

“We are compelled to cancel these flights until March 28 in view of the continuing travel restrictions imposed by the Philippine government as a public health and safety measure, related to the novel coronavirus situation,” PAL said.

PAL said its Filipino flight and cabin crewmembers are likewise included in the ban and, as such, are unable to operate these flights. 

“As there is no definite end date to the travel ban and thus no certainty that we may resume flying after March 28, we are unable to carry out automatic flight re-accommodations for passengers of cancelled flights,” the airline said.

“Once the travel ban is lifted and we reinstate our flights to and from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, you may rebook, reroute or refund your ticket within your ticket’s validity period, with rebooking, rerouting or refund service fees waived,” it said.

Cebu Pacific had announced earlier that it would be canceling all its flights between the Philippines and China up to March 29 in light of developments related to nCoV.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) effected the ban last Monday at 9:30 p.m. At around 10:50 p.m., Eva Air flight BR 261 from Taipei arrived at NAIA carrying mostly Taiwanese passengers and other foreigners. All were not allowed to enter the country.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente on Monday announced the expansion of the travel ban to include tourists from Taiwan.

“We have confirmed with the Department of Justice, which is our mother department, that Taiwan is indeed included in the expanded travel ban,” announced Morente.

Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo previously said Taiwan is covered by the ban because the World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes it as part of China, and the Philippines adheres to a one-China policy.

A China Airlines official who requested anonymity said, in a mix of English and Filipino, that “we are talking of virus, not politics. And we are not talking of (the) one-China policy. What about our OFWs leaving for Taiwan, especially those who were only taking a vacation from work? They will no longer take their flight back to Taiwan. What about their work in Taiwan?”

Departing Filipino passengers bound for Taiwan are banned from leaving, and only foreign passport holders are allowed to depart at the NAIA terminals.

The first flight of China Airlines CI 711, carrying 91 overseas Filipino workers from Kaoshiung, arrived at around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at NAIA Terminal 1 and were each given a health information slip to be filled up with their personal information and travel history. All OFWs lined up for thermal scanning and medical checkup by quarantine doctors.

Ban stays

The travel ban on Taiwanese citizens stays despite an appeal by the Taiwanese foreign ministry to lift the restriction, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the ban is being imposed “for the safety of our countrymen.”?“The travel ban, I understand, that included China was the basis of the World Health Organization including Taiwan as part of China. And since there’s a ban on China, necessarily, Taiwan being part of China is included,” Panelo said at a press briefing.

“So if the World Health Organization says there is a need for lifting of the ban in any part of those already announced who have travel ban, then we will… I suppose, do so,” he added.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines issued a statement expressing “grave concern” about the travel ban and said that Taiwan was “wrongly included” as a part of China by the WHO and urged the Philippine government to remove the ban.

“The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent state,” the statement read. “Taiwan issues its own passport and visas and has exclusive jurisdiction over its people and territory. In fact, Taiwan is not, nor has it ever been, part of the PRC (People’s Republic of China). Taiwan has taken all measures needed to contain the spread of 2019-nCoV.”

The statement continued, “It is a factual error for the World Health Organization to regard Taiwan as a part of PRC. The Philippines should not be misled by WHO’s wrong information on Taiwan. No other countries in Asia, except the Philippines, have issued travel ban on Taiwan.”

Ban not recommended

WHO yesterday reiterated that it is not recommending any form of travel ban in connection with the nCoV outbreak.

WHO Philippine representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe said the agency stands pat on its position that no travel ban should be imposed in any country, not even China and its special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau or Taiwan for that matter. 

“Our recommendation is that… no travel restriction should be placed,” he noted in an interview.

Abeyasinghe added that the travel restriction that a government decides is “based on risk assessment within the country, and the Philippines decided they will restrict travel from China and SARs of Hong Kong and Macau.”

Aida Gerodias, president of the Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan (PILMAT), said that Taiwan is an independent country recognized by the United Nations, with the Philippines having economic and trade relations with them with the establishment of the MECO (Manila Economic and Cultural Office) in Taipei and TECO in the country.? – With Sheila Crisostomo, Rudy Santos, Alexis Romero, Mayen Jaymalin