Almost 200 Filipinos left Australia to go home to the Philippines through Philippine Airlines (PAL) special flights. PAL organised two special flights from Sydney and Melbourne on 27 May 2020 to serve stranded Filipinos.
This brings the special flights arranged to bring home Filipinos in Australia to the Philippines to a total of seven flights, since travel restrictions were put in place in late March.
PAL operated three special flights from Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane on 19 April 2020 and two special flights from Sydney and Melbourne on 29 April 2020. These flights enabled a total of almost 400 Filipinos in Australia to go home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read about the journey home from one passenger who flew from Sydney to Manila, including all of the processes and requirements on arrival in Manila: New processes on arrival in the Philippines – here’s what overseas Filipinos need to expect.
The Embassy in cooperation with the Philippine Consulates in Australia and the Philippine Overseas and Labor Office (POLO) in Canberra continue to facilitate the repatriation of Filipino seafarers. On 21 May 2020, nine seafarers were able to go home from Perth to Manila.
International travel in both the Philippines and Australia remains restricted. The Australian Embassy in Manila and PAL organized the flights from the Philippines that made possible the assisted departures from Australia, enabling Filipinos to return home and be with their families. The Philippine Embassy understands that there may be many more Filipinos in Australia in need of assistance as we continue to face many challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Filipino Community are advised to regularly visit the Philippine Embassy website: www.philembassy.org.au for further advisories as the Embassy continues to find ways to assist the best way it can.
Feature image: Stranded Filipinos avail of Philippine Airlines special flight on 19 April 2020 in Melbourne International Airport. Photo Credit: Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines
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