Filipinos eagerly look forward to Holy Week each year as a chance to reflect and spend quality time with their families and loved ones. It is important for everyone to have the opportunity to travel comfortably, whether they are engaging in religious observances or simply taking a much-needed vacation.
Cebu Pacific (CEB) has provided a reminder to make everyone's flight travel smoother, as airports are anticipated to be busy at this time of year.
▪︎ Be on time at the airport: Passengers must allot time for traffic going to the airport. Passengers must be at Ninoy Aquino International Airport's (NAIA) Terminals 3 and 4 at least three hours before departure for domestic flights and four hours for international flights. Passengers traveling to Dubai are allowed to check in as early as seven hours before departure.
▪︎ Check-in online: By checking in via the Manage Booking portal of the CEB website or the official CEB mobile app, long lines at the airport can be avoided. For domestic flights, both options are available up to one hour prior to the scheduled departure time and for international flights, up to four hours beforehand.
▪︎ Accomplish eTravel Forms: Passengers going internationally are advised to register or update their eTravel forms three days or less before departure from and arrival in the Philippines in order to ensure a seamless experience at the immigration counters. After completing the form, preserve the QR code that is created at the end of the form.
The eTravel form must be completed twice by passengers flying abroad on round-trip flights — once for the outbound flight and once for the arrival flight. eTravel forms can be completed by accessing www.etravel.gov.ph.
▪︎ Pack your bags accordingly: Carry-on bags that fit in the overhead bin and personal items like a compact backpack, handbag, or laptop bag that fits under the front seat are allowed for passengers to bring on board. A bag's combined weight can not be more than 7 kilograms. Unacceptable-sized or weighed bags will be seized and subject to fees at the ticket booth.
▪︎ Checked baggage policy: To avoid fees, travelers are advised to buy pre-paid baggage online using the CEB website or mobile app. With the latest enhancement to CEB's baggage policy, travelers are now allowed to check in up to three pieces of 20-kg luggage.
For every piece of baggage purchased, passengers may also add an extra 4 kg, 8 kg, or 12 kg weight allowance on top of the initial 20 kg. Passengers can also save on fees if they pre-purchase baggage allowance or extra bags online, which is up to four times cheaper than airport charges.
Travelers may buy the prepaid bags as they book their flights or add additional baggage allowance via the Manage Booking portal of the CEB website or mobile app using their MyCebuPacific accounts up to two hours before departure.
▪︎ Self-tag luggage for select domestic destinations: Travelers departing from selected domestic destinations (Davao, Manila, Clark, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Bohol, Iloilo, Siargao, and Zamboanga) are reminded to self-tag their checked-in baggage at the airport's designated kiosks before heading to the bag drop stations.
▪︎ Check flight information and closing times: For domestic flights, check-in counters close 45 minutes prior to planned departure, and for international flights, one hour prior to scheduled departure. This allows sufficient time for all required pre-flight procedures. CEB advises travelers to proceed straight through immigration and final security after checking in to minimize delays. About 45 minutes prior to the departure time, boarding begins. Visitors can visit www.cebupacificair.com/flight-status for updated flight information.
▪︎ Check the airport terminal assignment for your flight: Before going to the assigned airport terminal, travelers must verify the details on their boarding tickets and itinerary. Flying to and from Manila, Cebgo (DG) flights operate out of NAIA Terminal 4 at Domestic Road, Pasay City, whereas Cebu Pacific's 5J flights arrive and depart from NAIA Terminal 3.
Currently, CEB operates 35 local destinations and 24 international destinations across Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.