KHALEEJ TIMES, Wednesday, Dec 22, 2021 | Jumada Al-Uola 17, 1443
Dubai-Philippines flights: Emirates issues advisory amid new travel restrictions
Emirates:
Effective December 23, 2021, up to and including January 3, 2022, only
Cebuano Overseas Filipino Workers and returning Filipinos will be allowed to
enter Cebu as per directive from local authorities in the Philippines.
No other nationality is permitted to travel on these flights.
This decision by the Cebu provincial government was in response to brimming
hotel occupancy rates from local bookings by residents who still do not have
access to electricity and water after the onslaught of Typhoon Rai.
“Our hotels are already full. Why? Because our own Cebuanos – because there is
no electricity and there is no water – those that can afford are going to the
hotels,” Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said in a press conference on Monday,
December 20
Emirates issues advisory
The Dubai-based Emirates urged passengers to visit the website to update
passport details to avoid disruption to their journey.
If customers need to change their booking and have bought their tickets directly
with Emirates, they can contact the local airline office.
If booked through a travel agent, passengers need to contact the agency for any
changes.
The airline has asked passengers to bring all the correct documents to check‑in
to board the flight.
The regulations change frequently, and passengers should regularly check the
travel requirements for Dubai and the travel requirements for your final
destination before you travel.
Entry requirements
Under the new protocol, returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) with Cebu residences will be swabbed upon arrival and
will stay a maximum of two days in quarantine hotels.
This sets forth a shorter hotel quarantine period mandated by the Interagency
Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
The IATF requires seventh-day testing in hotel quarantine if coming from a red
list country, fifth-day testing if arriving from a yellow list country, and
third-day testing also in hotel quarantine if from a green list country.
In terms of days, it will be either eights days if coming from a red list
country, six days if from yellow list country, or four if from a green-category
country.
Returning Cebuanos need to present the following documentary requirements to be
allowed entry:
A valid identification card and a duly accomplished declaration form stating
their residential address in Cebu for OFWs
Proof of pre-booking at an
accredited hotel in Cebu for a maximum of two days for ROFs