By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The “no vaccine, no travel” policy is not only limited for land or sea travel, as local airline companies in the country announced a “no vaccine, no fly” policy which took effect yesterday.

The three airline companies serving the Bacolod-Silay Airport – Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific, and AirAsia Philippines – announced that under the directive issued by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) all passengers are required to show their vaccination cards prior to boarding their flights for both inbound and outbound travel to Manila.

Travelers are considered fully vaccinated if at least two weeks have elapsed after their second dose of a two-dose COVID vaccine, or single-dose COVID vaccine.

An exemption has been added for individuals with a medical condition which prevents them from getting vaccinated, as well as those traveling in order to procure essential goods such as medicine, medical devices, and or medical and dental necessities.

Those who are exempted, however, are required to show the pertinent documents including medical certificates from their personal physicians indicating why they couldn’t get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Travelers exempted from the DOTr directive would also be required to present negative RT-PCR test results taken within the last 48 hours before entry in the departure terminal, based on rules set by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

PAL and Cebu Pacific also said they would not accept unvaccinated children for boarding on domestic flights to and from Manila for the meantime, unless the trip is for urgent medical reasons./DGB, WDJ