PAL to Transport Stranded OFWs in Afghanistan

Fly A330 to Islamabad this week

16 August 2021

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has secured contract to transport stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Southeast Asia, and the Middle East under Bayanihan flights.

The flag carrier will mount Bayanihan flights from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the next two weeks.

It will also repatriate OFWs in Afghanistan from Islamabad in Pakistan this week according to foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin Jr.

The DFA calls for all Filipinos in Afghanistan to join the repatriation effort and to immediately contact the Philippine Embassy in Pakistan or OFWHelp through the following details:
Whatsapp/Viber: +923335244762

There are about 500 Filipinos in Afghanistan working in hotels and US-based defense contractors. But only 130 passengers were willing to be evacuated to Manila.

The DFA has issued Alert Level 4 (mandatory evacuation/repatriation) for the whole of Afghanistan Sunday due to large scale internal conflict in the country. The initial 35 Filipino workers were earlier evacuated to Doha, Qatar where they were flown by chartered PAL flight to Manila arriving August 17.

According to DFA, PAL has completed six bayanihan flights since July 29 chartered by the Philippine government.

PAL SVP and Chief Strategy and Planning Officer Dexter C. Lee said, “We thank the Philippine government for giving the national carrier another avenue to assist our stranded countrymen. We will be mounting several more special commercial flights or ‘Bayanihan flights’ in the coming days.”

The airline will mount the following Bayanihan flights:
Kuala Lumpur to Davao (August 16);
Bangkok to Manila (August 17);
Dubai to Manila (August 18);
Kuala Lumpur to Manila (August 21);
Jakarta to Manila (August 22);
Dubai to Manila (August 22); and
Karachi to Manila (August 23) tentative

Difference Between Bayanihan and Repatriation Flights

Bayanihan flight is a chartered commercial flight paid for by the Philippine government, under the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for the return home of OFWs affected by Covid19 pandemic. Airlines that flew Bayanihan flight are Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Cebu Pacific, Philippine Air Asia, Royal Air, and PAL.

PAL is also scheduled to fly repatriation flight from Karachi to Manila within the week that will transport affected OFWs in Kabul, Afghanistan back home.

Repatriation flight is a chartered special flight paid by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to repatriate affected Filipinos working in troubled countries back home arising from natural or man made disasters.

PAL operates repatriation flights from various countries in the Carribean, Africa, Middle East and Asia.

These flights are usually identified with number 8 and 9 prefixes. It sometimes carry foreign nationals of destination airport that were also stranded in the Philippines.

PAL said only Philippine passport holders will be allowed to board the Bayanihan flights. Passengers must present a valid negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours before departure from the concerned foreign city, and must undergo a second RT-PCR test after the first 7 days of quarantine in the Philippines.

Passengers must present the One Health Pass QR code prior to aircraft boarding. All travelers should register with the Bureau of Quarantine e-Health Declaration Card including children.

In line with the government’s current health protocols for Bayanihan flights, all passengers will be subjected to a 14-day stringent facility-based quarantine upon arrival in the Philippines.

The cost of the quarantine hotel stay of OFWs and the RT-PCR tests on the 7th day will be shouldered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration or the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), while returning overseas Filipinos will cover their own hotel and RT-PCR test costs.