Cebu Pacific has re-opened all cargo flights in Iloilo, Tacloban, Pagadian, Cotabato, and Butuan as part of its support to transport essential goods and equipment during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
In an advisory, Cebu Pacific said it also continues to mount all-cargo flights across Cebu, General Santos, Cagayan De Oro, Davao, Zamboanga, Puerto Princesa, Dumaguete and Bacolod.
International and domestic commercial flights, on the other hand, remain suspended until May 31 in line with the implementation of modified enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila.
The airline has operated almost 170 cargo flights and carried 34 tons of humanitarian aid amounting to P1.9 million since the start of the quarantine period until end of April. These flights were between Manila, Bacolod, Cebu, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Tacloban, Iloilo, Tuguegarao, and Davao, Cebu Pacific said in a statement.
Cargo services include airlift support for local governments, humanitarian and aid organizations as well as other entities sending personal protective equipment and medical supplies to help health workers and front liners in the provinces.
The airline noted that amid travel restrictions that came with the imposition of community quarantine across Luzon and many other provinces across the Philippines, it has continued to operate all- cargo flights “to ensure that food, medicines and vital supplies are transported from one island to another across the archipelago.”
Throughout the quarantine period, Cebu Pacific said it has been in constant coordination with the Inter-Agency Task Force and other government agencies for cargo transport—especially those that are intended for humanitarian aid.
Cebu Pacific has been utilizing its fleet of Airbus jets and ATR turbo-prop aircraft. It is currently the only carrier in the Philippines with a dedicated ATR Freighter, capable of carrying as much as seven tons of cargo in one uplift.
