MANILA, 8 December 2021: AirAsia Philippines has resumed its Manila-Hong Kong route after almost a two-year flight suspension due to the ongoing global health crisis.
The bi-weekly flights to Hong Kong officially commenced 5 December with flight Z2 1264 departing Manila’s NAIA Terminal 3 at 0835. The return flight to Manila arrived at 1400 with 103 passengers on board, all of which were Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
The resumption of the flights to Hong Kong and other international destinations like Singapore is timely as demand for inbound flights to the Philippines will rise in the weeks prior to Christmas and New Year.
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) forecasts that 150,000 to 180,000 overseas workers will return home for the holiday season.
AirAsia Philippines allayed concerns surrounding the emergence of the Omicron Covie-19 variant, reassuring guests that stringent multi-layered safety protocols are in place. Earlier reports confirmed there were three Omicron variant cases in Hong Kong that have already been contained.
To further protect the country against the possible entry of the Omicron variant, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), through Resolution 152, required all fully vaccinated guests arriving in Manila from green and yellow list countries, including Hong Kong, to submit a negative RT- PCR test taken at least 72 hours before their departure.
They are then endorsed to a quarantined hotel and must take another RT-PCR test on their fifth day. If the test returns negative, they will be allowed to continue their self-quarantine at home for 14 days.
Guests who fail to present a negative RT-PCR test will be required to stay in a quarantined hotel and take their RT-PCR on the 7th day. They will be sent home to continue their self-monitoring for 14 days.
Partially vaccinated and unvaccinated guests meanwhile will be subjected to a 10-day quarantine with RT-PCR test on their 7th day.
