PAL feels the impact of the hostage drama
“PAL is beginning to feel the initial impact of a Hong Kong government advisory warning its residents to refrain from all travel to the Philippines,” said Philippine Airlines(PAL) president Jaime J. Bautista in a news release.
The national flag carrier PAL president made the statement Thursday that a total of 558 Manila-bound bookings from Hong Kong and mainland China have been cancelled after the hostage crisis in Manila where eight Hong Kong tourists were killed and several others injured.
Bautista said that two Hong Kong- and Macau-bound Filipino tourists have also changed their destination.
PAL is yet to decide whether the 5 daily flights to and from Hong Kong will be reduced or not due to booking cancellations. “We share the grief and understand the Hong Kong people’s wrath. We are optimistic that fears of travelling to the Philippines will be temporary,” Bautista said.
The negative travel advisories to the Philippines are not helping the flag carrier with its consistent claim of financial difficulties for years. Bautista looks forward to the government’s conciliatory efforts with Hong Kong and that will soon lead to the lifting of the travel restrictions.
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