Laoag Airport hosts returning OFWs

On Jul 19, 2021

Airport and Bureau of Customs staff at the Laoag International Airport, wearing protective clothing and gears, stand ready to welcome the arrival of 119 Filipino overseas workers (OFWs) who got stranded in Malaysia since last year when the COVID-19 became a global pandemic. It was the second repatriation flight organized by the government for the OFWs to be processed at LIA (photo credit: BOC-PIAD).

A MONTH after resuming its flight operations, the Laoag International Airport welcomed and processed the arrival of returning Filipino overseas workers (OFWs) who arrived on board Flight PR526 of the country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL).

In a statement, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said the arrival last July 10, 2021 of the flight was the second ‘repatriation flight’ organized by the government for returning OFWs from Malaysia handled by the LIA, carrying 119 passengers.

The passengers were among the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who were stranded since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last 15 March 2020.

The first repatriation flight cleared in the airport was on 12 June 2021 while another flight is expected to tentatively arrive on July 24, 2021.

A minimum 14-day gap is strictly observed between the schedule of flights, as part LIA’s health protocols to minimize the spread of the highly-infectious virus. The period is sternly complied by the airport authorities and flight organizers to make sure travel protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases are well implemented and complied with, the BOC statement added.

These flights were organized by the PAL management in coordination with the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), BOC, Bureau of Immigration (BI), Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Health (DOH), Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital, local hotels and other concerned organizations.

After disembarking, arriving passengers are required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

The first 10 days, including the swab test on the seventh day, would be spent by the repatriated OFWs in local hotels.

After complying with all the health and safety protocols, the passengers shall have the option to be brought home in their respective provinces either through the sweeper flights of PAL or by the chartered buses of OWWA.