ARRIVAL of international flights at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) resumed on Sunday, June 6, 2021 after Malacañang diverted flights to Ninoy Aquino International Airport from May 29 to June 5, 2021.
In a memorandum issued on May 27, 2021, the Malacañang had ordered all international flights bound for the MCIA to be diverted to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for eight days beginning 12:01 a.m. of May 29 until 11:59 p.m. of June 5, 2021.
The same memorandum also states President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to enforce the testing and quarantine protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in all ports of entry nationwide.
READ: Cebu-bound international flights to be diverted to Manila
But GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) Chief Executive Adviser Andrew Harrison said two international flights from Doha, Qatar and Singapore arrived at MCIA on Sunday, June 6, 2021.
MCIA is implementing the swab-upon arrival policy of Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia's Executive Order 17, Harrison said.
He added that they are also implementing the 300 arriving passengers cap in line with the available rooms from accredited quarantine hotels and quarantine facilities.
"We’re very happy that we had our first flight yesterday. The number of passengers arriving will be in line with the current cap, which is also tied to the number of hotel rooms available. As the number of hotel rooms goes up, we will seek to have that limit increased,” he said on Monday, June 7, 2021. (ANV/NRC)