Philippines bars entry from 6 more countries due to threat of COVID-19 variant
MANILA, Philippines (Updated Jan. 11, 2021, 1:13 p.m.) — The Duterte administration on Wednesday announced fresh travel restrictions to six more countries on top of the 20 nations it first halted entry to amid the threat of the new coronavirus variant.
Per Malacañang's new order Wednesday night, foreign travelers from Portugal, India, Finland, as well as Norway, Jordan and Brazil will no longer be allowed entry to the Philippines beginning January 8 until January 15.
Those arriving before January 8 would still be welcomed, but will be required to quarantine for two weeks despite a negative RT-PCR test result.
Filipinos who come from the said countries but are returning to Manila, however, would also be allowed entry, provided that they follow the prescribed quarantine period even if they tested negative for the deadly virus.
The said countries join the list of other areas where the Philippines has restricted travel:
- Australia
- Canada
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Hong Kong SAR
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Lebanon
- Singapore
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- The Netherlands
- United Kingdom
- United States
Philippine health officials earlier today said the COVID-19 variant has not yet reached the country, after Hong Kong authorities reported a returning resident who tested positive and had come from Manila.
Still, experts have stressed that the public should not let their guard down, as the more infectious variant could lead to another spike in cases and raise anew the possibility of a return to hard lockdowns that have hurt the economy badly.
Palace has said too that unaccompanied Filipino minors coming from countries with travel restrictions would not be given entry until January 15, except minors returning through its repatriation programs.
They will, in turn, be turned over to social welfare officials for ensuring their safety and in following quarantine measures.
Government has said that it would regularly update the list of nations covered in its travel restrictions.
It came nearly a year since it faced criticism for rejecting a travel ban of tourists from China that eventually led to the country's first COVID-19 case, a woman from Wuhan, where the virus originated.
The coronavirus task force has also put up a technical working group led by Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire for monitoring and identifying new variants and providing policy proposals.
Experts from DOH-TAG, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health, PGC and EpiMetrics comprise the group.
Health officials have said that they are in talks with their counterparts in Hong Kong following the development. — with reports from Gaea Katreena Cabico
Find the latest travel and tourism news from around the world amid the coronavirus pandemic. Main image by AFP/Romeo Gacad
Airlines will fly 4.35 billion passengers this year, close to the 2019 record as the industry bounces back from the Covid pandemic, an industry group said on Monday.
The sector will also be back in the green, with net profits forecast to reach $9.8 billion in 2023, or double previous estimates, boosted by the end of China's Covid restrictions, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The association added that its 2022 losses were half as bad as previously estimated at $3.6 billion.
"Airline financial performance in 2023 is beating expectations," IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement during the association's annual general meeting in Istanbul.
"Stronger profitability is supported by several positive developments. China lifted Covid-19 restrictions earlier in the year than anticipated," Walsh said. — AFP
Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific reports its first annual operating profit since 2019 as the airline fights to return to pre-pandemic flight capacity.
"Cathay Pacific has experienced three challenging years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with 2022 very much being a year of two halves," chairman Patrick Healy says in a statement announcing the results..
Cathay is still trailing regional rivals such as Singapore Airlines, with Hong Kong's axing of harsh pandemic curbs -- including mandatory hotel quarantine and strict testing requirements -- only beginning in the fall of last year.
The airline operated at one-third of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity in December but expects to reach 70% of that figure by the end of 2023, the company says. — AFP
German airline giant Lufthansa says Friday it returned to annual profit in 2022 after two years of losses, its fortunes lifted by rebounding demand as economies reopened after COVID-19 shutdowns.
The group reported a net profit of 791 million euros ($839 million) for last year. This compares to a net loss of 2.2 billion euros in 2021 and 6.7 billion euros in 2020.
"Lufthansa is back," says the company's CEO Carsten Spohr. — AFP
People hoping to take advantage of a Hong Kong scheme to give away half a million free airline tickets face hours-long online queues on Wednesday, as the Asian financial hub bids to woo tourists back.
The city last month launched a campaign to reboot its reputation as "Asia's world city", after years of strict pandemic-related travel restrictions and a crackdown on sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong became one of the last places in the world to drop its outdoor mask mandate, which city leader John Lee said was a sign that it was "resuming normalcy". — AFP
Australian airline Qantas says Thursday it bounced back into profit in late 2022, hailing a "huge turnaround" after swallowing massive losses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national carrier posted a second-half profit of Aus$1.43 billion (US$974 million) before tax, after accumulating Aus$7 billion in losses across the previous three years.
Chief executive Alan Joyce says surging demand for flights had boosted the company's fortunes while announcing a plan to buy back Aus$500 million in Qantas shares. — AFP
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