Philippine Airlines Airlifts Filipino Evacuees from Malta
Philippine Airlines was recently contracted by the Department of Foreign Affairs to send two aircraft to Malta to airlift Filipino evacuees that are escaping from strife-torn Libya. The evacuation took place on August 12 with the flights scheduled to arrive back in Manila on August 13.
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| Copyright Photo: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG |
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) previously estimated that the two flights would be able to carry nearly 800 of the 1,036 overseas Filipino workers that registered their willingness to leave Libya. However, it remains unclear which aircraft Philippine Airlines deployed on the rescue flights.
The DFA earlier stated that it had chartered two Boeing 777 aircraft capable of carrying 350 passengers each. However, sources at Philippine Airlines revealed that all six of their Boeing 777 aircraft were already occupied serving routes to London, Canada, and the United States. Pulling out two of the flagship wide-body aircraft would ultimately disrupt flight schedules.
Instead, it was believed that Philippine Airlines would deploy either an Airbus A340-300 or one of the new A330-300 HGW aircraft that has the ability to carry in excess of 400 passengers. "PAL's A330 aircraft are flying out of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and it would be easier to pull them out there and be sent to Malta," the source added.
Malta is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, just 300 kilometres away from Libya. The flying time between Malta and Manila is approximately nine hours non-stop. The cost of evacuating and transporting the Filipino migrant workers from Libya was primarily covered through financial assistance provided by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. However, Japanese companies that employed Filipino workers also agreed to cover the cost of transporting their employees.
To date, the Department of Foreign Affairs has evacuated nearly 1,000 overseas Filipino workers back to the Philippines from Libya since trouble erupted last month. Nearly 600 escaped Tripoli by land crossings, while another 400 employed by Hyundai escaped through Tunisia when the border was re-opened. Last month, the DFA ordered a "mandatory" evacuation of all Filipinos residing in Libya, after a Filipino construction worker was beheaded following an abduction by unknown suspects.
The killing of the construction worker in Benghazi was followed by a gang-rape of a Filipino nurse in Tripoli last week. Hundreds of Filipino nurses and doctors walked out of Tripoli's Medical Center in protest after the gang-rape, an incident that sparked trouble within the hospital.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs is attempting to evacuate all 13,000 Filipino migrant workers in Libya. However, only 1,036 had agreed to board a sea vessel that would carry the evacuees to Malta for the return flight to the Philippines. The sea vessel is capable of accommodating as many as 1,500 passengers.
According to DFA spokesperson Charles Jose, the ship docked in the port of Benghazi on August 5 to pick up 436 Filipino migrant workers. It later headed to the port of Mistrata to collect 602 workers the following day before continuing on to Malta. "After Mistrata, the ship sails for Malta and upon docking, Philippine authorities will transport them to the Malta International Airport where we have already chartered two planes from PAL," said Jose. Although more than 1,000 workers registered, the DFA remained unsure how many would actually board the ship as many of the overseas Filipino workers opted to remain behind out of fear of losing their jobs.
The DFA earlier stated that it had chartered two Boeing 777 aircraft capable of carrying 350 passengers each. However, sources at Philippine Airlines revealed that all six of their Boeing 777 aircraft were already occupied serving routes to London, Canada, and the United States. Pulling out two of the flagship wide-body aircraft would ultimately disrupt flight schedules.
Instead, it was believed that Philippine Airlines would deploy either an Airbus A340-300 or one of the new A330-300 HGW aircraft that has the ability to carry in excess of 400 passengers. "PAL's A330 aircraft are flying out of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and it would be easier to pull them out there and be sent to Malta," the source added.
Malta is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, just 300 kilometres away from Libya. The flying time between Malta and Manila is approximately nine hours non-stop. The cost of evacuating and transporting the Filipino migrant workers from Libya was primarily covered through financial assistance provided by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. However, Japanese companies that employed Filipino workers also agreed to cover the cost of transporting their employees.
To date, the Department of Foreign Affairs has evacuated nearly 1,000 overseas Filipino workers back to the Philippines from Libya since trouble erupted last month. Nearly 600 escaped Tripoli by land crossings, while another 400 employed by Hyundai escaped through Tunisia when the border was re-opened. Last month, the DFA ordered a "mandatory" evacuation of all Filipinos residing in Libya, after a Filipino construction worker was beheaded following an abduction by unknown suspects.
The killing of the construction worker in Benghazi was followed by a gang-rape of a Filipino nurse in Tripoli last week. Hundreds of Filipino nurses and doctors walked out of Tripoli's Medical Center in protest after the gang-rape, an incident that sparked trouble within the hospital.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs is attempting to evacuate all 13,000 Filipino migrant workers in Libya. However, only 1,036 had agreed to board a sea vessel that would carry the evacuees to Malta for the return flight to the Philippines. The sea vessel is capable of accommodating as many as 1,500 passengers.
According to DFA spokesperson Charles Jose, the ship docked in the port of Benghazi on August 5 to pick up 436 Filipino migrant workers. It later headed to the port of Mistrata to collect 602 workers the following day before continuing on to Malta. "After Mistrata, the ship sails for Malta and upon docking, Philippine authorities will transport them to the Malta International Airport where we have already chartered two planes from PAL," said Jose. Although more than 1,000 workers registered, the DFA remained unsure how many would actually board the ship as many of the overseas Filipino workers opted to remain behind out of fear of losing their jobs.
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