Flight diversion from Cebu to NAIA to continue until June 12

• The government has extended the diversion of international inbound flights from Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) until June 12

• The extension comes as the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) is set to implement travel and testing protocols for passengers that will be arriving in Cebu on June 13

• The diversion of international flights bound for MCIA to NAIA was first imposed from May 29 to June 5 after the Cebu provincial government insisted that the Cebu airport implement its own testing and quarantine protocols, which differed from IATF’s protocols

The Philippine government has extended the diversion of international inbound flights from Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) until June 12.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea in a June 5 memo ordered the extension of flight diversion as the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) is set to implement travel and testing protocols for incoming passengers in the province, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in a press briefing.

“Inaasahan natin (We expect) that on the 13^th of June, the IATF protocols on arriving OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) and OFs (overseas Filipinos) will be implemented in Cebu,” Roque added.

READ: International flights to Cebu diverted to NAIA; cargo exempt from new order

The diversion of international flights bound for MCIA to NAIA was first imposed from May 29 to June 5 after the Cebu provincial government insisted that the Cebu airport implement its own testing and quarantine protocols, which are different from IATF’s protocols.

In a memo dated May 27, Medialdea ordered that current testing and testing protocols approved and issued by the IATF applicable to inbound international travelers should also be enforced in all ports of entry, regardless of any specific protocols that may be issued by local government units (LGU) to the contrary.

On May 10, the Cebu provincial government issued an ordinance easing travel restrictions for all inbound travelers to the province.

Under the ordinance, returning OFWs and non-OFWs from abroad will be swabbed upon arrival and subjected to a three-day hotel stay while waiting for a negative result. They will then be allowed to go home, subject to existing health protocols in their particular LGUs.

But under current IATF protocols, passengers arriving in Manila are required to undergo a minimum 10-day mandatory hotel quarantine and get swabbed on the seventh day. Passengers who test negative can continue their quarantine at home from the 10^th to the 14^th day.

In a public advisory on May 27, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority said flights not included in the diversion order are domestic flights, incoming and outgoing cargo flights, and departing commercial international flights.