SPECIAL FLIGHTS. Stranded Filipinos avail of Philippine Airlines special flight at the Melbourne International Airport on April 19, 2020. The PAL has already arranged 7 special flights to bring stranded Filipinos in Australia back to the Philippines. (Melbourne PCG photo)
MANILA – Almost 200 Filipinos left Australia on Wednesday (May 27) to go home to the Philippines through two special flights organized by the Philippine Airlines (PAL).
The two flights from Sydney and Melbourne increased to seven the total special flights that brought home Filipinos from Australia since travel restrictions were put in place in late March.
PAL operated three special flights from Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane on April 19 and another two from Sydney and Melbourne on April 29. These flights enabled a total of almost 400 Filipinos in Australia to return home during amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
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.
Last May 21, 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 they 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. For more information, visit https://www.philembassy.org.au or https://www.facebook.com/PHinAustralia/. (PR)
