PAL Mounts Sweeper Flights to Bring Home Stranded Canadians
Philippine Airlines (PAL) and the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines partner together to mount dedicated commercial flights to Canada to ferry nationals and eligible permanent residents to Toronto and Vancouver this April 14, 2020.
The scheduled flights are as follows:
- Manila to Vancouver: PR116 departing at 7:20 PM
- Manila to Toronto: PR118 departing at 4:55 PM
The said sweeper flights are mounted due to the “extremely high demand” of Canadians stranded in the country, the embassy said. More PAL Canada sweeper flights are planned for the future.
“PAL is continuously processing a large number of requests from stranded Canadians throughout the country. If both flights scheduled on April 14 are sold out, we will consider mounting more flights back to Canada,” the embassy advised in a released statement.
However, because of an extremely high volume of calls, PAL set up an option for interested travelers to register with PAL at https://mypal.vip/url/PHCanadaRepatFlight. The airline would take down important information and contact them shortly after that. PAL committed to working diligently from 8 AM to 8 PM throughout the Easter holiday period.
In addition to this, many sweeper flights to Manila are scheduled for April 14 morning from various locations like Cebu, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Davao, and Puerto Princesa which will connect with the dedicated flights to Toronto and Vancouver. Interested parties can book their flights directly with PAL.
The embassy added that travelers with confirmed bookings on canceled or future Philippine Airlines flights to Canada would be permitted to use the value towards the cost of a ticket on these dedicated flights. He or she would just have to pay the fare difference. This travel credit applies only to tickets booked or purchased directly from PAL. If one bought tickets from via a travel agent, these travelers should refund these tickets from their agent and just book anew through the PAL call center.
For stranded Canadians in Bohol, some availed of sweeper flights to Manila on April 11. But they must have confirmed onward flight departing the Philippines.
The Visa Application Centers (VAC) in Cebu and Manila also planned to open on April 13, Monday, 10 AM to 2 PM for passport releases and decisions only.
For further info, passengers can visit Philippine Airlines official website or the PAL Facebook Page. For more news on Philippine Airlines, click here.
