Last April 4, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the proposal to close down the country’s top tourist destination Boracay for six months starting on April 26, 2018 to allow the island’s rehabilitation. The recommendation came from an interagency task force from the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Tourism (DOT) and Interior and Local Government (DILG).

So where does this leave travelers who have already booked their flights to Boracay, specifically Caticlan and Kalibo, within the shutdown period? I have compiled below the travel advisories from the country’s three major airlines for ease of reference:

Philippine Airlines Travel Advisory

Options available to affected passengers going to Kalibo and Caticlan:

• Rebook
• Reroute
• Refund with penalties and charges waived

“Passengers of the affected Kalibo and Caticlan flights have the option to rebook / reroute / refund with penalties and charges waived. Rerouting options cover both domestic and international routes. Passengers may contact PAL Hotline ((+632) (02) 855 – 8888, log on to www.philippineairlines.com or visit the nearest PAL ticketing office or partner travel agent for the rebooking/ rerouting/ refunding of their tickets.”

Philippine Airlines will scale down its services to Caticlan and Kalibo airports for six months and scale up flights to other Philippine tourist destinations.

Click here for the full advisory from Philippine Airlines.

Cebu Pacific Travel Advisory

Options available to affected passengers going to Kalibo and Caticlan:

• Rebook, subject to seat availability
• Reroute to any domestic destination, subject to seat availability
• Refund
• Place full value of ticket in a travel fund for future use

For rebooking or refund, visit www.cebupacificair.com and go to “Manage Booking” section.

GetGo members who redeemed flights during the period covered by the flight suspension may avail of the following options:

• Rebook up to 30 days from original travel date, subject to seat availability
• Reroute to any domestic destination within 30 days from original travel date, subject to seat availability.
• Credit back points to member’s GetGo account by calling +632 714 3846″

“Guests who booked through a travel agent or any other third party are encouraged to provide us with their own contact details so they are directly advised about any flight changes.”

“For any other concerns, passengers may also message the official Cebu Pacific Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cebupacificair) or Twitter (@CebuPacificAir) accounts. They may also try the CEB hotline at +632 702 0888, however due to the heavy volume of calls, the fastest way to rebook or refund affected flights is via the ”Manage Booking” section in the Cebu Pacific website.”

Cebu Pacific will cancel flights to and from Caticlan and Kalibo, in Aklan from April 26 to October 27, 2018.

Click here for the full travel advisory from Cebu Pacific.

Air Asia Travel Advisory 

Options available to affected passengers going to Kalibo and Caticlan:

• Change destination, on any flights operated by AirAsia Philippines (carrier code Z2) for the same country pair within 30 days of the original travel date at no extra cost, subject to seat availability and government mandated taxes. Fare difference shall apply for international flights operated by other AirAsia Group carriers and changes to travel date beyond 30 calendar days
• Move flight date: Change to a new travel date on the same route without additional cost, subject to seat availability
• Credit account: Retain the value of fare in your AirAsia BIG Loyalty account for future travel with AirAsia. The online credit account is valid for booking within 180 calendar days from the date of issue
• Full refund: Obtain a full refund to your original payment method for the amount equivalent to your booking.

To move flight date / change destination / credit account, fill in an e-Form available on support.airasia.com and do the following:

1. Click on the Email Us tab on the right panel
2. Select Enquiry/Request under Type of Feedback
3. Select Booking under Sub Category 1
4. Select Boracay Closure for Sub Category 2
5. Type in your option under Subject: “Boracay – Move Flight” OR ”Boracay – Change
6. Destination” OR “Boracay – Credit Account”
7. Complete the remaining form fields and click Submit to proceed

• For move flight, provide new flight details (date and time) and passenger name(s)
• For change of destination, provide new destination, flight details (date and time) and passenger(s)
• For credit account, provide your AirAsia BIG Loyalty member ID

To get full refund, fill in an e-Form available on support.airasia.com and do the following:

1. Click on the Email Us tab on the right panel
2. Select Refund under Type of Feedback
3. Select Flight Cancellation under Sub Category 1
4. Type in Subject field: “Boracay – Refund”
5. Complete the remaining form fields and click Submit to proceed

Click here for the full travel advisory from Air Asia.

Good luck!

Do subscribe to www.joelandrada.com or follow me on Facebook (click here) for more travel and lifestyle updates. Signing out for now. Peace!

Throwback: Boracay 2007

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