Jakarta, 14 May 2020 – AirAsia operated three special chartered flights between Indonesia and the Philippines today, in support of the repatriation efforts for the citizens of both countries. These are in addition to two humanitarian services which AirAsia Indonesia operated last month.
The first rescue flight today, with 22 passengers onboard, departed Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta International Airport at 09:16 local time and arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila at 14:07 local time.
The aircraft returned to Jakarta with 95 Indonesian citizens onboard, departing Manila at 14:34 and arriving in Jakarta at 17:53.
The third flight, which departed from Ahmad Yani International Airport in Semarang today at 09:44, arrived in Manila at 14:30 with 23 Filipino citizens onboard.
These three flights were coordinated with the collaboration of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia and its diaspora in Manila, the Embassy of the Republic of Philippines in Jakarta, as well as the authorities and airport operators in both countries.
Indonesian Embassy in Manila supports and facilitates this self-repatriation as an implementation of the government policy to protect its citizens overseas especially during COVID-19 epidemic. The same policy also implemented by the Philippines Government through its Embassy in Jakarta
Ambassador of the Philippines in Jakarta, H.E. Leehiong T. Wee commented, “The coordination between our two embassies in bringing our respective citizens home during this challenging time is testament to the friendship of our two countries, which we have built and strengthened over the last 70 years.”
AirAsia Indonesia CEO, Veranita Yosephine Sinaga said, “AirAsia is once again very honoured by the trust bestowed upon us from both embassies for today’s missions. Despite the uncertainties emerging from COVID-19, we are proud to still be able to contribute to our local communities by flying our guests back to their families and hometowns. On behalf of AirAsia and all of our Allstars involved in the flight: ‘Mabuhay! Welcome home! and Selamat datang di tanah air (welcome to homeland)’.”
The special flights were operated today on AirAsia’s Airbus A320-200 aircraft, adhering to strict safety protocols, in compliance with relevant health authorities’ advice and guidelines. All guests were required to provide health certificates and to undergo additional health screening procedures at the airport prior to departure. All guests and flight crew will also be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival as per standard procedure.
AirAsia imposes strict standards for passenger and baggage carriage in compliance with local governments, civil aviation authorities, and global and local health agencies, including the World Health Organisation. The aircraft were immediately disinfected after the flights as per AirAsia’s enhanced safety procedures.
For enquiries on AirAsia Indonesia’s special flight service for passengers or cargo transportation, please email us at iaa_charter@airasia.com.