Airlines promise to bring home for free Filipinos caught in US-Iran conflict

The country’s three major domestic airlines have committed to assist the government in bringing home Filipinos living in the Middle East should tensions between the United States and Iran worsen.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announced Friday the carriers promised free flights as part of a plan to evacuate Filipinos from conflict areas in the region.

“Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines have agreed to accommodate, free of charge, stranded Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates or in any of their available Middle East flights, once the plans for the repatriation have been outlined,” CAAP director general Jim Sydiongco said.

“Air Asia, on the other hand, has agreed to the possible allocation and free accommodation of repatriated Filipinos who need to go back to their respective provinces in their domestic flights,” he added.

PAL and Cebu Pacific operate flights to the Middle East while AirAsia Philippines flies to destinations in the Philippines and Asia.

Philippine Airlines confirmed on Friday it was already coordinating with the concerned Philippine embassies, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“We will carry, free of charge, affected Iran-based or Iraq-based Filipinos via PAL’s network of flights from the Middle East to Manila,” PAL president and chief operating officer Gilbert Santa Maria said in a statement.

“These OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) who are certified for repatriation by the Philippine government can make use of available seats on our regular Manila-bound flights from Dubai in the UAE, or alternately from Doha in Qatar, and Riyadh or Dammam in Saudi Arabia,” he added.The DOTr said repatriation measures were also being finalized with officials from the Department of National Defense.

“When needed, our aviation sector, and the whole of DOTr, will fully support the government’s efforts in this repatriation. We will ensure that there will be no delays in getting our OFWs home and safe,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said in the statement.