CAAP imposes new scheduling on inbound international flights

Aviation Updates Philippines – The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) today imposed a new guideline in receiving passenger international flights bound for the Philippines effective midnight of Monday, May 11, 2020.

Based on its advisory dated May 9, 2020, CAAP Operations Center (OpCen) released a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) assigning specific days allowable to receive inbound international flights with passengers on-board. 

Starting May 11, 2020, all inbound international chartered flights, such as repatriation and sweeper flights, will only be allowed to land at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Mondays and Thursdays. Meanwhile, commercial international flights will be allowed to arrive in Manila on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

The lifting of these restrictions is not until June 11, 2020, exactly a month later.

At least 48 hours prior to departure from the point of origin, all flights are required to seek necessary clearances and approval from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and CAAP for slotting purposes and rescheduling of flights when necessary.

This comes after authorities limited the daily capacity of NAIA to around 400 passengers only. Overwhelmed by the number of repatriates, the Philippine government recently halted all international arrivals around the country until Monday to ensure its facilities could cope with the arrivals. Departures, however, were still accepted.

READ: CAAP: International flights suspended for one week

The NOTAM does not cover emergency landings, cargo flights, air ambulance and medical supplies, government and military flights, weather mitigation flights, and maintenance and utility flights. 

Flights to the Philippines, however, only carry Filipinos and their immediate family members, diplomats, and heads or members of international missions. A ban on foreign tourists and non-residents is still enforced, per CAAP.