Press Release No. EBB-27-2020
PH CONSULATE GENERAL IN JEDDAH REPATRIATES MORE FILIPINOS IN JEDDAH AND WESTERN KSA
JEDDAH, 4 July 2020–– The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah successfully repatriated another 354 Filipinos based in Jeddah and other parts of the Western Region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 3 July 2020 via a Philippine Airlines (PAL) chartered flight. The chartered landed in Manila on July 4 at around 2:40 P.M. The repatriates are among the thousands of OFWs who were economically displaced and got stranded in the Kingdom because of the COVID-19 crisis that continues to ravage the Saudi economy.
Jeddah PCG originally intended to repatriate 353 OFWs in the said flight, but several passengers did not show up at the airport while nine (9) were offloaded after their sponsors cancelled their final exit visas. The seats that were vacated by the no-shows and offloaded passengers were quickly filled-up by 45 other OFWs on wait-list. These waitlisted passengers were brought by the Consulate to the airport in anticipation of no-shows and off-loaded passengers. PAL gave one (1) extra seat to accommodate a pregnant OFW, raising the total number of repatriates to 354 or a seat utilization rate of 100.28%.
Consul General Edgar B. Badajos said that the repatriation of distressed OFWs in Jeddah and the Western Region of Saudi Arabia is part of the Philippine government’s firm commitment to bring home overseas Filipinos who would like to be repatriated amidst the economic crisis being experienced by many countries caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Philippine government continues to assist OFWs stranded in other countries whose financial means were affected by the economic crisis caused by Covid-19,” Consul General Badajos said. Following Secretary of Foreign Affairs’ Teodoro Locsin Jr.’s instructions to bring home OFWs who would like to be repatriated, the Consulate General immediately coordinated with the office of the DFA-Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs headed by Undersecretary Sarah Lou Y. Arriola for the flight arrangements with PAL.
Jeddah PCG hopes to mount another chartered flight with PAL sometime in the third week of July. Meantime, Philippine civil aviation authorities have given the green light for more Saudia special commercial flights to land in Manila in parallel with the repatriation efforts of the Philippine government. –END-
Consul General Edgar Badajos briefs the repatriates on their flight. All the repatriates were shuttled
from the Consulate to the King Abdulaziz International Airport by buses rented by Jeddah PCG.
Filipino repatriates checking-in for their 10:255 PM flight.
Jeddah PCG repatriation team
Repatriates safely arriving in Manila
