MANILA, PHILIPPINES — AirAsia Philippines continues to support trade in the Asian region while continuing to assist Filipino seafarers who are either returning to their families in the Philippines or going back to their posts abroad.
AirAsia Philippines ferried 70 Filipino seafarers from Manila to Matalla Rajapaksa International Airport in Sri Lanka via flight Z28160 on 12 August 2021. The Filipino mariners had just finished their annual vacation and renewed their contracts to return to their posts at the port of Colombo and Port of Hambatota in Sri Lanka. From there, they will be travelling around the world onboard their vessels carrying petroleum products, foods, and other commodities.
Meanwhile, 77 Pinoy mariners who boarded the return flight (Z2-8161) arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 and were brought to a hotel for the mandatory 14-day quarantine before they can be reunited with their families.
Filipino seafarers make up the largest number of mariners in the world. The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) reported that in 2019, almost half a million or 518,519 Filipino sailors were deployed around the world, contributing $6.14 billion to the Philippine economy.
Sri Lanka tops the destinations of the Filipino mariners because of the country’s strong bilateral ties to the Philippines which has continued to flourish for six decades now.
AirAsia Philippines Spokesperson Steve Dailisan said, “AirAsia takes pride in being able to ensure the safe transport of our OFW’s here and abroad during these challenging times, which in turn assures the continuous trade of goods around the world. It’s an ecosystem that we are humbled to take part in.”
AirAsia Philippines’ Sri Lanka (HRi) flight departs from NAIA Terminal every Thursday, 9:00am. Its return flight departs from Matalla Rajapaksa International Airport at 4:00pm and arrives in Manila at 10:00pm.
Aside from Sri Lanka, AirAsia Philippines is also working with local manning agencies to assist Filipino seafarers coming from and flying to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Batam in Indonesia based on demand.
To date, AirAsia has safely mounted more than 600 chartered repatriation and sweeper flights and has reunited 50,000 Filipinos with their families and loved ones.
