Airlines roll out Undas measures, advisories

MANILA, Philippines — Airline companies have rolled out travel safety measures and issued advisories and reminders to passengers for the coming observance of Undas, or All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2.

Philippine Airlines spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said PAL wishes to remind passengers flying out during the long holiday period, which also covers the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Oct. 30, to check their terminal assignments.

In Manila, PAL international flights operate in and out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 while PAL domestic flights operate at NAIA-2

For domestic travel, the airline advised passengers to be at the airport two hours before their flights while for international flights, they should arrive three hours before their flights.

“For convenience, check in online 24 hours before your flight,” PAL said.

“Know the baggage allowance of your ticket,” it added.

For outbound international travel, passengers should know the travel requirements of their destinations, according to the airline.

“For travel to the Philippines, you are required to fill out E-travel, as required by the Inter-Agency Task Force,” PAL said.

The airline has also opened a pay lounge at NAIA-2 for domestic passengers.

“This means that if you are traveling on Economy Class and are non-PAL Elite and non-Premiere Elite, you may still experience the PAL Domestic Mabuhay Lounge by using the pay lounge,” PAL said.

The pay lounge is on top of the Domestic Mabuhay Lounge for Business Class/Elite/Premiere Elite passengers.

CEB check-in

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific Air advised its passengers to check in online via the official CEB mobile app or via the Manage Booking section of the CEB website to avoid long lines at the airport.

Both options are available from seven days up to one hour before the scheduled time of departure for domestic flights and up to four hours before the scheduled departure for international flights.

The airline also encouraged passengers to allot time for traffic going to the airport.

“Passengers must be at the NAIA-3 and 4 at least three hours before departure for domestic flights, and four hours for international flights. Passengers traveling to Dubai are allowed to check in as early as seven hours before departure,” it said.

“All check-in counters close one hour before the scheduled time of departure to ensure that there is ample time for all necessary pre-flight procedures. After checking in, we encourage passengers to immediately go through immigration and final security to avoid delays. Boarding commences 45 minutes before the scheduled departure,” it added.

Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) spokesperson and head of corporate communications Carmina Romero said the airline’s international passengers bound for non-visa destinations may start using kiosks near Aisle E at NAIA-3 to complete their check-in process.

“They only need to scan the barcode from their itinerary receipt or enter their booking reference numbers,” Romero said.

“Passports can also be scanned through the kiosk for verification,” she added.

International passengers previously needed to check in at the counter to verify their travel documents before printing their boarding passes.

Passengers with no check-in bags may go straight to the boarding gate after they have their boarding passes printed. Other travel documents that need further verification may be checked at the bag drop counters.