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MANILA: The Philippines on Saturday (May 9) announced new restrictions on international flights landing at its main airport in the capital, where most of the country’s coronavirus infections have been reported.
“Beginning May 11, incoming and commercial international charter flights landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will have assigned days,” the Philippine Civil Aviation Authority (CAAP) said in a notice.
Charter flights will only be allowed on Mondays and Thursdays, while commercial flights may land on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. All will have to obtain prior authorization from the Department of Foreign Affairs and CAAP, according to the notice.
The restrictions, which will be in force until June 10, aim to ensure that the airport does not handle more than 400 passengers per day, which is its capacity, CAAP added.
Last Sunday, CAAP temporarily banned all incoming international passenger flights for a week to free quarantine facilities amid an increase in Filipino workers returning home from abroad.
More than 24,000 Filipino workers abroad have returned to the country since the global pandemic began, and more are awaiting repatriation flights.
The Health Department reported 147 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Philippines on Saturday, bringing the national count to 10,610, with a death toll reaching 704.
More than 60 percent of the cases were reported in the capital Manila, which has been closed since mid-March. Authorities were discussing whether the blockade will be lifted, decreased, or modified after May 15.
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