PAL celebrates 80th anniversary

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Airlines (PAL) is here to stay amid the challenges brought about by the pandemic, according to its president and COO Gilbert Santa Maria.

Santa Maria assured the public that the company would “stay aloft and serve the public” as the flag carrier celebrated its 80th anniversary yesterday.

“Our message to our country and the world: PAL is alive, we’re still here, and we’re here to stay. This great lady Philippine Airlines will stay aloft while she is in our care,” he said.

Santa Maria said the company is working tirelessly to sustain the airline’s viability. “We must remain bold and fearless. We will continue to work to earn PAL’s future,” he said.

Santa Maria, in a letter to PAL employees last month, said the company’s comprehensive financial restructuring, marking the next phase of its recovery journey would soon be under way.

The airline has appointed Norton Rose Fulbright as its counsel for restructuring.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, PAL said it has been focusing on repatriation and cargo transport efforts, as well as rebuilding its network of commercial flights in key international and domestic routes.

The flag carrier has restored regular commercial flights to the US, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and several Asian countries, as well as most of its domestic trunk and inter-island routes.

PAL, however, has extended the suspension of its flights to and from London until next month, with the hope of restoring its London services by May.

PAL has carried home 310,000 of the displaced 420,000 overseas Filipinos to their respective provinces since March last year.

It said tens of thousands of foreign nationals have also flown back to their home countries via PAL.

At present, the airline is airlifting shipments of anti-COVID vaccines to various areas in Mindanao, Luzon, and Visayas. The total number of vaccine doses carried by PAL from March 2 to 13 stood at 345,610 doses.