By Ariel Fernandez

Some Filipino domestic passengers who bought tickets for scheduled flights in June were dismayed upon being told on their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) that the flights to Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro have been cancelled.

Belenda Menaralito said her flight to Cagayan was cancelled on June 1. She wanted to return home after
being stranded in Manila since the enhanced community quarantine was declared in March.

Annabelle Sato, a passenger bound for Narita, Japan was also dismayed upon learning that her flight to Japan was also cancelled.

“I was stranded here in Manila for almost three months. I wanted to see my kids and I am almost penniless,” she said.

The DOTr and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) are now coordinating with the Inter Agency Task Force and local governments to convince the LGUs to accept locals stranded in Manila so that the domestic airlines can already operate in domestic destinations.

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Ed Monreal called a meeting yesterday of all domestic airlines, during which the general manager advised the airlines representatives to refrain from announcing that they are going to operate this month so that the passengers will not go to the airport terminals.