Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’ largest national flag carrier, has launched affordable Covid-19 testing options to boost confidence in air travel.

Passengers traveling from Dubai to Manila with connecting or transfer flights to select provinces in the Philippines, can now avail of antigen tests through the airline’s Test Before Boarding (TBB) initiative for only AED54 ($14.7).

The antigen tests, which provide results within 30 minutes, are accepted for travel to General Santos City, Butuan, Dipolog, and Pagadian.

For these destinations, passengers can head directly to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 just a few hours before their estimated time of departure to get the test. Passengers will just have to register onsite and pay the fee to CEB’s diagnostic partner, Philippine Airport Diagnostic Laboratory (PADL). Only those holding negative test results will be allowed to board the flight.

The airline’s price for the antigen test is considered the lowest in the industry, with its TBB testing facility at the NAIA Terminal 3 now open for walk-ins from 2 AM to 2 PM daily.

Affordable RT-PCR tests

Meanwhile, all of its other domestic and international flights, including travel between Manila and Dubai maintain the requirement of a negative RT-PCR test result.

CEB has ensured this need is fully covered with RT-PCR tests for only AED255 ($69.4) via its three partner laboratories, namely: PADL, Health Metrics, Inc. (HMI), and Safeguard DNA Diagnostics Inc. (SDDI).

Candice Iyog, CEB Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience, said: “We remain committed to making flights affordable for everyone and seeing that testing is required by a number of destinations at the moment, we have partnered with accredited laboratories that may offer affordable testing options. We look forward to the day trust and confidence in air travel have been restored, but until then, let us all work together towards that.”

Passengers booked on Cebu Pacific and Cebgo can easily choose and book appointments via https://bit.ly/CEBFlightRemindersAE. One will simply have to click on the “Testing Options” tab and choose from any of those in the list. From there, they will be redirected to each laboratory’s page to finalise their schedule online.

CEB has been rated 7/7 stars by airlineratings.com for its Covid-19 compliance, as it continues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety, in accordance with global aviation standards. These include daily extensive cleaning and disinfection protocols for all aircraft and facilities, antigen testing before duty for all frontliners and crew members, and contactless flight procedures. These are all in accordance with global best practises and the highest safety standards. Aircraft are equipped with hospital grade HEPA air filters, which make inflight transmission of Covid-19 low or virtually non-existent.

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