PAL announces Taiwan travel ban effectively immediately

The Philippine Airlines (PAL) has announced that government authorities has informed the flag carrier the coverage of the travel ban includes Taiwan, amid the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019 nCoV) outbreak.

"As a result of this directive including Taiwan on the list covered by travel restrictions, Philippine Airlines is compelled to cancel all flights to and from Taipei EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY," PAL said in a statement.

"This means that the directive temporarily bans the entry of any person, regardless of nationality -- except Filipino citizens and holders of Permanent Resident Visa issued by the Philippine Government ---  directly coming from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan."

Also included in the temporary ban include travellers from China,  Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

The airline also said that the government task force may also ban the entry of travellers from other areas with confirmed widespread 2019 nCoV Acute Respiratory Disease (2019 nCoV ARD).

"We advise passengers with flights to and from Taiwan from February 11 onwards to await the lifting of the ban. Once lifted, they have the option to rebook/ reroute / refund within their ticket's validity period with penalties waived," the company added. — BAP, GMA News