As an airline suspends route, Palace partially lifts Korea travel ban
MANILA, Philippines — Four days into barring Filipinos from travelling to South Korea, the Philippines announced it is partially lifting the travel ban, an unexpected order that came just as one local airline was announcing it is suspending its Korea routes to follow earlier government restrictions.
“The IATF has approved to allow Filipinos to travel to South Korea except to the whole of North Gyeongsang Province, including Daegu City and Cheongdo county, where the virus outbreak is concentrated,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a briefing.
The latest order came as a pleasant surprise for Filipino travellers hit by the ban that took effect only last Friday. But for the airlines, it was an unexpected change that came after hundreds of flights were already grounded.
When asked by Philstar.com on their next moves after the latest Palace order, Charo Lagamon, corporate communications director at Cebu Pacific, only said: "There is still no official directive."
The predicament is nothing new. Last Wednesday when the ban on Filipino tourists in South Korea was announced, airlines took differing approach in the absence of formal guidelines, which came in two days after the announcement. While flag-carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and AirAsia did not wait for the signed order and implemented the ban, Cebu Pacific opted to wait for the official document from the inter-agency task force on emerging infectious diseases (IATF).
There are indications the same thing can happen this time.
Hours before Panelo's announcement, AirAsia Philippines just had a separate announcement, saying the airline has suspended some flights to and from South Korea from March 4 to 28. AirAsia operates flights to Incheon and Busan from Kalibo, Cebu and Manila.
"In compliance with the Philippine government's directive imposing travel restrictions due to the current public health situation, AirAsia is cancelling some of its flights between the Philippines and South Korea until the government's further notice," the airline said in a statement.
AirAsia is yet to respond to Philstar.com when asked if it will proceed with the cancellations after the ban was lifted.
The decision to lift the ban was arrived at early on Tuesday by IATF, which groups various agencies including the Justice, Tourism and Health departments. “All Filipinos who intend to visit other parts of South Korea shall execute and sign a declaration, signifying their knowledge and understanding of the risks involved in their trip,” Panelo said.
Apart from AirAsia, PAL over the weekend announced the cancellations of some of its flights to and from South Korea from March 1 until March 31.
The flag carrier, however, retained a number of flights to and from Incheon and Busan for travelers not covered by the ban on North Gyeongsang.
Cebu Pacific, meanwhile, had also suspended its Manila-Incheon-Manila, Cebu-Incheon-Cebu and Kalibo-Incheon-Kalibo routes from March 3 to April 30. The budget airline has a total of 40 flights a week between the Philippines and South Korea.
While Filipinos are now allowed to enter most of Korea, Panelo said the ban on foreign nationals from North Gyeongsang Province to enter the Philippines remains in effect.
As of Tuesday, South Korea has recorded 4,812 coronavirus cases nationwide, nearly 90% of which are in Daegu and North Gyeongsang. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said death toll has risen to 28. — Patricia Lourdes Viray with reports from Richmond Mercurio
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