Philippines Halts Flights With Quarantine Sites Congested

(Bloomberg) -- All commercial flights in and out of the Philippines were suspended beginning Sunday, with the country's quarantine facilities congested as thousands of Filipino workers return from overseas.

The government has accommodated about 20,000 repatriates in various sites in the capital region amid the lockdown, with about 2,000 people arriving daily, the Department of Transportation said in a statement.

“This measure to temporarily suspend international passenger arrivals will enable the government to de-congest the processing of this number to a more manageable level,” it said in the statement, adding that the facilities are at full capacity.

Passenger flights will be suspended until May 9. Cargo and maintenance flights, as well as those carrying medical supplies and other necessities, will be allowed to continue, the Manila International Airport Authority said on its Facebook account.

Local carriers Philippine Airlines Inc. and Cebu Air Inc. have canceled flights until May 15, while some foreign airlines continued to fly passengers to and from the nation's capital as of Saturday.

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