Effective last January 17, 2022, only domestic travelers vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to board local carriers bound for or departing Metro Manila.
The “No vaccination, No Fly” directive, contained in Department of Transportation (DOTr) Order-2022-001(https://dotr.gov.ph/55-dotrnews/4141-dotr-s-no-vaccination-no-ride-policy-gets-support-from-pal-airasia.html), is valid as long as Metro Manila remains under Alert Level 3 or higher. The directive applies to Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific and AirAsia.
Travelers are considered fully vaccinated if at least two weeks have elapsed after their second dose of a two-dose COVID vaccine, or single-dose COVID vaccine.
To be allowed to board the aircraft, they should present physical or digital copies of vaccine card issued by local government units or a vaccine certification issued by the Department of Health, valid government ID or any document prescribed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
Exempted from the rule are individuals with medical condition that vaccination could compromise, as well as those traveling to procure essential goods like medicine, medical devices, medical and dental necessities.
They would be required, however, to present pertinent documents including medical certificates indicating physicians’ numbers, for those with medical conditions. To be required of those doing errands for essential goods is a duly issued barangay health pass or other appropriate proof to justify such travel.
Travelers exempted from the DOTr directive would also be required to present negative RT-PCR test result taken within the last 48 hours before entry in the departure terminal, based on rules set by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
PAL and Cebu Pacific said they would not accept unvaccinated children for boarding on domestic flights to and from Manila for the meantime, unless the trip is for urgent medical reasons.
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport have issued a notice to all domestic passengers as well:
Advisory from PAL
FOR DOMESTIC FLIGHTS: NO VACCINATION, NO FLY (new DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Department Order No. 2022-001)
Effective January 17, 2022, airlines are only allowed to accept fully vaccinated passengers for carriage on our domestic flights to and from Manila.
This requirement was imposed by the Philippine Department of Transportation (DOTr) and is valid for as long as the Metro Manila area (National Capital Region – NCR) remains under Alert Level 3 or higher. The requirement applies to all domestic travel to and from NCR, including the travel of individuals who reside outside NCR but who work inside NCR.
Travelers are considered fully vaccinated if at least two weeks have elapsed after their second dose of a two-dose COVID vaccine, or two weeks after receiving a single-dose COVID vaccine. You are required to present physical or digital copies of a vaccine card issued by your local government unit (LGU), or a vaccine certification issued by the Department of Health (DOH), or any document prescribed by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease); as well as a valid government-issued identification card (ID) with your picture and address. The DOTr order is here: https://bit.ly/NoVaxNoRideDOTR.
However, PAL can accept unvaccinated individuals, including minors, who can present:
- A duly signed medical certification with the doctor’s name and contact details that states that their medical condition prevents full COVID-19 vaccination; or
- Appropriate proof (e.g., barangay health pass) to support that their travel is to procure essential goods and services (e.g., medicine, medical devices, medical and dental necessities, public utilities, etc).
Children 11 years old and below can be accepted on PAL flights without the need for a medical certificate, but should still present proof of essential travel, and must follow the LGU requirements for their destination. Please be ready to present proof of the child’s age if requested.
We seek your kind understanding, as we are required to comply with government directives for the safety of all travelers and our communities. We reiterate that the new directives apply only on domestic flights to and from Manila; our other domestic flights do not fall under these restrictions.
If the new directive prevents you from traveling, and you purchased your ticket prior to January 17, 2022 and booked for travel on any date from January 17 to January 31, 2022, your ticket is safe and remains valid, and you may avail of the following options:
- Convert your ticket to Travel Credits equivalent to the unused base fare of your ticket. Voucher validity is one year (1) year from date of issuance.
- Rebook or Reroute your ticket to another flight with available space within 60 days from the original flight in the same cabin class.
- Refund ticket without penalties, excluding Ticketing Service Charge.
No show fees will be collected if your confirmed reservation was not cancelled at least four hours before your booked flight departure time.
You may request the above through our MyPAL Request Hub facility at www.bit.ly/MPRHPAL.
For such rebooking requests and transactions, we encourage you to use our MyPAL Request Hub rather than call our PAL customer hotline (which is presently unable to fully accommodate the very high volume of calls and requests). If you purchased your ticket through a travel agent, please deal directly with your agent.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work together with our government authorities to promote and enforce safe air travel.
Advisory from Cebu Pacific
Cebu Pacific Travel Advisory #10
Flexible Options for Passengers Affected by “No Vaccination, No Ride” Policy
As of 5:00PM, January 17, 2022 pic.twitter.com/HUgqizbNHY— Cebu Pacific Air (@CebuPacificAir) January 17, 2022
