Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines (PAL) have announced that they have adjusted their Boracay-bound flights to support the government’s plan to rehabilitate the world-famous island.
In their statement, PAL will scale down services in Caticlan and Kalibo airports. Beginning in late April, PAL will only operate nine weekly flights between Manila and Kalibo and seven weekly flights between Manila and Caticlan. In addition, flights from Cebu and Clark will also be suspended from April 26 to October 27.
On the other hand, Cebu Pacific announced that they will cancel several Kalibo and Caticlan flights which they enumerated at their press release. Both airlines stated those who have booked their Kalibo and Caticlan flights ahead have the option to rebook, reroute, or refund with penalties and charges waived.
It will be six months before the white sands of Boracay can be seen again. The place, which is one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations, will be out of reach for tourists for six months starting in April 26 until October 26.
The famous tourist destination is being rehabilitated following the approval of President Rodrigo Duterte. He observed that the area has turned into a ‘cesspool’ after being constantly visited by millions of tourists over the years. Last February, during Duterte’s visit to the island, he criticized the lack of sewage system on the island.
The rehabilitation aims to correct the inflicted damage to the island and also to preserve its natural beauty.
With the rehabilitation in plan, several businesses located within the island such as restaurants, hotels, souvenir shops, dive shops, resorts, vendors, and other tourism-related jobs will be affected. However, the Department of Labor and Employment opts to give out temporary jobs to those who will be affected by the closure.