Cebu Pacific Begins COVID19 Test Before Boarding Trial in Philippines

(31 Oct 2021) Cebu Pacific has partnered with the local government of General Santos, and the Philippine Airport Diagnostic Laboratory (PADL), to offer passengers a free COVID19 test before their flight.

Only passengers with a negative antigen test result will be allowed to board the aircraft.

The two-week Test Before Boarding (TBB) trial started on 3 December. All Cebu Pacific passengers flying from Manila to General Santos from 3 to 14 December will be required to undergo TBB, free-of-charge, during the pilot run.

“We welcome this development through Cebu Pacific, because it opens up more people to the idea of traveling again,” said Mayor Ronnel Rivera of General Santos City. “We believe this will be a breakthrough initiative, as it will allow our residents to feel more secure and not be wary of arriving passengers from Manila.”

Passengers must fill out an electronic passenger information form (E-PIF) through PADL’s portal and pre-register via Trace and Protect Action Team (TAPAT) System for non-residents entering General Santos at least 24 hours before their flight. They must also secure a travel authority to be allowed entry into the city, and check-in online before going to the airport, as part of contactless flight procedures.

At the airport, travellers must proceed to the testing facility located at Level 3 of the NAIA Terminal 3, five hours before departure to give ample time for testing procedures. Once called for their turn, swab samples will be collected, with results to be released within 30 minutes.

After completing the test, DOH-accredited PADL will provide passengers with a certificate showing the results of their Antigen test. They can then proceed straight to the gate or bag drop counters until an hour before the scheduled time of departure at 13:05.

Only guests with negative results will be allowed to board the flight, while those with positive results will be referred to another testing facility for confirmatory RT-PCR testing.

CEB VP for Marketing and Customer Experience Candice Iyog said, “Safety has always been our topmost priority and in this current environment, health is part of safety. We look forward to the results of this pilot so we can pave way for a more confident restart of non-essential travel and a standardization of requirements across all Philippine destinations. We would also like to laud General Santos City for piloting Test Before Boarding with us.”

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