Flights to Dubai, Riyadh canceled

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March 13, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have continued canceling their flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Philippine Airlines suspended flights until March 28 while Cebu Pacific canceled all flights until March 17.

Philippine Airlines executive vice president Carlu Fernandez said all slots for the Dubai airport have been canceled until March 28 as security assessments also show that flights to Dubai will be extremely risky.

Foreign carriers like Emirates Air from Dubai, Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi, Gulf Air from Bahrain, Kuwait Airlines from Kuwait and Qatar Airways from Doha have canceled their flights to Manila since March 1.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesman Eric Apolonio said since Feb. 28, some international flights have been canceled and some have been diverted due to safety considerations and airspace restrictions.

Pinoy crew safe

All 38 Filipino seafarers on board two vessels hit by projectiles in the Persian Gulf were reported safe and are being transported to safer ports, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) yesterday.

“One ship had 21 Filipino crew. They are all safe. The other one had 17 Filipino crew and they are all safe. They’re being transported to a safer port at the moment,” DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac said.

According to the DMW, about 7,313 Filipino seafarers are currently deployed across the Middle East, and all have been accounted for.

The agency also renewed its call on shipowners and manning agencies to ensure the safety of Filipino maritime workers and to respect their right to refuse to sail in conflict zones.

Cacdac noted that under agreements reached through the International Bargaining Forum, seafarers who decline to sail in high-risk areas are entitled to compensation and repatriation.

“If they refuse, they will be given two months’ salary and free repatriation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cacdac said the government is continuing search efforts for a Filipino seafarer reported missing following another missile strike on a tugboat in the region.

The DMW is also investigating the shipowner involved in the tugboat incident after it was discovered that the Filipino crew member had not been registered with the agency.

Aside from monitoring seafarers, the government is also facilitating the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from areas affected by the ongoing tensions.

Cacdac said around 110 Filipinos from Israel, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have returned to the Philippines over the past two days through different exit points.

He added that the government is preparing a chartered flight that could bring home more than 300 Filipinos from affected areas.

The House of Representatives said the 2.4 million Filipinos currently residing and working in the tension-struck Middle East underscore the urgency for a coordinated Philippine government action.

During a joint hearing on Wednesday by the House committee on foreign affairs and committee on overseas workers affairs, legislators pledged full support for repatriation and welfare of Filipinos in the Middle East.

Representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, DMW, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Department of National Defense as well as Philippine embassies in affected Middle East countries presented updates on the evolving security situation and the government’s contingency plans.

Government agencies reported that Philippine embassies and labor offices across the region remain on 24/7 alert, providing welfare assistance, monitoring developments and facilitating repatriation arrangements for Filipinos who wish to return home.

“This hearing ensures that the government’s response remains swift, coordinated and accountable. In times of crisis, every Filipino must know that their government stands firmly beside them and will do everything possible to protect their safety and welfare,” committee on foreign affairs chairperson Rep. Maria Rachel Arenas said. — Christine Boton, Jose Rodel Clapano