SINGAPORE, 8 December 2020: The Philippines’ Cebu Pacific introduced Test Before Boarding (TBB), late last week, with passengers undergoing antigen testing at the airport just before they board a flight.
A first-of-its-kind in the Philippine, TBB aims to reduce the risk of infection between testing and boarding, finding infected passengers in a timelier manner. Only passengers with negative antigen test results are allowed to board the CEB aircraft.
Together with the local government of General Santos, and in coordination with the Philippine Airport Diagnostic Laboratory (PADL), CEB piloted TBB on 3 December for a two-week trial. All CEB passengers flying from Manila to General Santos are now required to undergo TBB, free-of-charge during the pilot run. This is in compliance with the Executive Order of General Santos; passengers no longer need to take any other test prior to their flight.
“We welcome this development through Cebu Pacific because it opens up more people to the idea of travelling again. We believe this will be a breakthrough initiative, as it will allow our residents to feel more secure and not be wary of arriving passengers from Manila,” said General Santos City Mayor Ronnel Rivera.
CEB VP for marketing and customer experience Candice Iyog added: “We look forward to the results of this pilot so we can pave the way for a more confident restart of non-essential travel and standardization of requirements across all Philippine destinations.”
Passengers must fill out an electronic passenger information form (E-PIF) through PADL’s portal and pre-register via Trace and Protect Action Team (TAPAT) System for non-residents entering General Santos at least 24 hours before their flight. They must also secure a travel authority to be allowed entry into the city, and check-in online before going to the airport, as part of contactless flight procedures.
At the airport, guests must proceed to the testing facility located at Level 3 of the NAIA Terminal 3, five hours before departure to give ample time for testing procedures. Once called for their turn, swab samples will be collected, with results released within 30 minutes.
After completing the test, DOH-accredited PADL will provide passengers with a certificate showing the results of their Antigen test. They can then proceed straight to gate or bag drop counters until an hour before the scheduled time of departure at 1305.
Only guests with negative results will be allowed to board the flight, while those with positive results will be referred to another testing facility for confirmatory RT-PCR testing.
CEB offers most flight options in the Philippines, with flights to destinations such as Boracay, Bohol, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Iloilo and Palawan.
It also operates flights to six international destinations including Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Dubai. Through its Juan Love campaign, the airline committed to 1 million domestic seats on sale until December 2020, to encourage travellers to support the local tourism industry.
