PAL anticipates uptick in ‘Ber’ months, but quarantine is a challenge

THE holiday season, which is usually the busiest time of the year for airlines, will continue to be challenged by government-imposed restrictions, especially the compulsory 10-day quarantine, but embattled Philippine Airlines remains hopeful that air passenger traffic would increase. “As long as we are allowed to fly more passengers…, we should have an uptick. We are now entering what typically will be the peak period for travel in the Philippines, the so-called ‘Ber’ months,” PAL President and COO Gilbert F. Santa Maria said. “The challenge will be, if you are a Filipino living overseas…, and you have two weeks of vacation that allows you to go home for Christmas and New Year, but you have to spend 10 days in a hotel for quarantine, you probably will not travel,” he noted. “If that quarantine is reduced to five days, then you will, and so we anticipate an uptick.” PAL officials said last month that international travelers find requirements such as testing and quarantine periods to be “very burdensome,” forcing them to put off their travel plans.<br/>