Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced Friday that it is ready to mount emergency flights to evacuate Filipinos in South Korea should the tension in the Korean peninsula erupt into a full-blown conflict.
The flag carrier expressed its readiness to mount special repatriation flights following a meeting by PAL officials with the Office of the President and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“We informed Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa that PAL has available aircraft that it can use for emergency flights to repatriate Filipinos who might be trapped in the dispute between North and South Korea,” said PAL president and COO Jaime J. Bautista.
“We want to assure the government and our ‘kababayans’ in South Korea that the national flag carrier is always ready to assist in times of emergency and lend a helping hand in their hour of need,” he added.
As part of the preparations, the government and PAL are discussing and identifying possible pick-up areas in South Korea where PAL planes could safely land to ferry Filipinos back to the Philippines.
“We fervently hope that the conflict in Korea would soon end, but we can’t take things for granted. That’s why we have thrown our full cooperation and support to government in case of a worst case scenario,” Bautista said.
Meanwhile, PAL said it continues to mount regular flights to Seoul and Busan until otherwise advised either by Philippine or South Korean authorities.
Updates on the conflict are also being fed to PAL management by its staff in Seoul who, in turn, get information from the Philippine embassy in South Korea.
Many times in its 70-year history, the national flag carrier — with its wide international route network — has been called upon to operate emergency missions to evacuate Filipinos in conflict-stricken territories.
PAL currently flies Manila-Seoul twice a day, to Busan four times a week, and daily from Cebu to Seoul.
For regular updates, inquiries or booking requirements, please visit the PAL website at http://www.philippineairlines.com.
