Cebu Pacific flight crew now 100% vaccinated

MANILA, Philippines — Budget carrier Cebu Pacific has attained 100 percent vaccination rate for its active flying crew, in time for the expected increase in passengers in the coming months following the easing of travel restrictions.

Cebu Pacific said the vaccination milestone was achieved through its own employee vaccination program and various partnerships with local government units in the country.

“We are very pleased to share this news with everyone as we prepare to ramp-up our domestic network to cater to the pent-up travel demand,” said Felix Lopez, vice president for people department at Cebu Pacific.

“Cebu Pacific continues to boost its safety protocols and we know having a fully vaccinated crew will strengthen the trust and confidence of the public in air travel,” Lopez said.

Overall, Cebu Pacific said its entire workforce is now 98 percent fully vaccinated.

Through the COVID protect program of the Gokongwei Group, Cebu Pacific employees received free inoculation for themselves and their dependents, as well as third-party workers, such as check-in agents and bag handlers.

The carrier also worked hand-in-hand with various local government units the past months to ensure its employees will be inoculated with whatever vaccine is available, at the earliest time possible.

“We commend our pilots and crew for voluntarily getting vaccinated, not only to protect themselves and their families, but even the passengers they fly with. We also express our gratitude to our leaders at the Gokongwei Group for spearheading the vaccination program, and of course, our government partners for recognizing the transport sector as a priority group,” said Sam Avila, vice president for flight operations at Cebu Pacific.

Cebu Pacific operates the widest domestic network in the country covering 32 destinations, on top of its eight international destinations.

The airline has been actively transporting vaccines from abroad to the Philippines, and across the country since March.

It has safely airlifted to date 16.5 million vaccine doses from China to the country, and close to 25 million vaccine doses across 28 domestic destinations.