In December 2021, a travel agent asked us to help fly home nearly 100 Filipino seafarers from various South African cities. With the Philippines banning all commercial flights from Africa after the Covid-19 Omicron variant was identified there, a private charter was the only way to get the stranded passengers home for Christmas.
Flying Filipino seafarers home in time for Christmas
In December 2021, a travel agent asked us to help fly home nearly 100 Filipino seafarers from various South African cities.
With the Philippines banning all commercial flights from Africa after the Covid-19 Omicron variant was identified there, a private charter was the only way to get the stranded passengers home for Christmas. We pulled out all the stops to get permission for the flight to go ahead during the busy holiday season.
Our Solution
Route: Johannesburg > Manila
Aircraft: Airbus A320neo
We quickly sourced an Airbus A320neo for the charter, which was the operator’s first-ever landing in Manila. Meanwhile, the client transferred the passengers from around South Africa to Johannesburg ready to board the flight.
After experiencing delays securing the required permissions during the busy festive period, we liaised with several government authorities and South Africa’s Filipino embassy to expedite the process and received the landing permit just seven hours prior to departure. The flight ran smoothly and passengers arrived home just in time to celebrate Christmas with their families.
The Finer Details
Rapid Response: We came up with a viable solution within an hour of receiving the request and the flight departed a week later.