Cebu Pacific Contactless Flights: New Normal Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

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Philippine budget-carrier Cebu Pacific (Cebu Pac) will soon be introducing contactless flights when passengers will begin flying again. It will be putting in place various sanitation protocols and intensifying preventive measures given resuming commercial passenger operations once the Philippine government lifts the strict COVID-19 quarantine protocols.

Cebu Pacific’s Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience Candice Iyog assured, “We are implementing additional steps to assure our flying passengers of health safety and make them confident to fly again. Hopefully, these ‘contactless flights’ will minimize face-to-face contact between the airline’s ground staff and passengers and observe social distancing.”

“We are asking for our passengers’ understanding and patience as we put in new measures for our restart,” Iyog further added. The airline is assuring that it will continue to review the various processes and continue to deliver the friendly and warm service Cebu Pacific is known for.

New Normal: Cebu Pacific Contactless Flights

Cebu Pac is putting safety as its top priority in this age of “new normal” as the country hopefully will be easing its quarantine restrictions come May 16.

In its website, Cebu Pacific has released new guidelines for its Contactless flights and are enumerated below:

Social distancing and masks on at all times

Cebu Pacific is urging all passengers to check-in for flights online. They will be required to hold their boarding passes with the barcode facing the staff for scanning. Queues and boarding procedures will be managed according to social and physical distancing guidelines. All Cebu Pac passengers are required to wear face masks from entry at the airport terminal, during the total duration of the flight until disembarkation at the destination airport.

Bag drop counters will close at least one hour before flights. This measure is to allow enough time for staggered boarding procedures. All Physical distancing markers and directionals must be followed.

Frequent cleaning and disinfection of passenger areas
All passengers will have to clean and disinfect their hands frequently. Hand sanitizers will be on hand for guests, crew, and staff use, which will be located at the airport and inside the aircraft. The airline’s passenger areas such as check-in kiosks, bag-drop counters, vehicles like shuttle buses, and aircraft lavatories, seats and tray tables will also be frequently disinfected and sanitized for everyone’s safety.

Self-checking-in and no-touch boarding procedures
As mentioned, guests are highly encouraged to check-in via the airline’s online portal to avoid the need to interact with check-in agents. Traveling passengers without check-in bags can go straight to the boarding gates. Boarding will proceed back to the front. Once a passenger is called, he should have his boarding pass ready for scanning by the gate agents.

Cebu Pacific will also implement several preventive measures as regards their crew, facilities, and aircraft:

Rapid testing and personal protective equipment for the crew
Cebu Pac pilots and cabin crew will undergo rapid antibody tests before flying, as part of the airline’s commitment to flattening the curve. After being cleared, they will have to don personal protective equipment (PPE).

As for the ground staff, they are likewise required to wear PPEs while on duty.

Extensive disinfection of all aircraft
The airline will implement daily disinfection procedures which include misting of the aircraft cabin, using an Airbus-approved disinfectant effective in eradicating viruses. This process is following the International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines and will ensure that all surfaces such as passenger seats, overhead bins, and cargo compartments are disinfected and sanitized. All lavatories, from the walls, sink, mirror, knobs, toilet bowl, and floors, will be deeply cleaned and disinfected in between flights and every 30 minutes during every trip.

Hospital-grade air filters in Airbus aircraft
To clean the air inside the cabin and to prevent the spread of aerosolized viruses, Cebu Pacific is assuring everyone that the air inside the aircraft is changed every three minutes. This is accomplished via High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters installed in every Airbus aircraft. The HEPA filters, similar to what is used in hospital operating rooms, are proven to filter out viruses with 99.99% efficiency.

Cebu Pacific assures the flying public that is working with government authorities and adhering to the guidelines issued by both the World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization. These procedures will always be revised and refined to ensure the safest and healthiest flights possible.

CEB is planning to restart commercial operations after it has suspended commercial operations for almost two months. The carrier may initially restart with a limited number of domestic flights.

For more news on Cebu Pacific Airlines or head on to Cebu Pacific Official Website.

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