Japan-PHL fares slashed amid repatriation

After the Philippine government vowed to bring home Filipinos in Japan who are either choosing that option or who are subject to mandatory repatriation, flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Friday announced it will cut its Japan-to-Philippines fares by a third. The price of a one-way ticket from Narita to Manila or Narita to Cebu has been reduced to $335 from $500, the airline said in a statement. The offer will run for a limited period only. PAL said Filipino evacuees are advised to coordinate with the Philippine Embassy in Japan — which is responsible for overseeing the repatriation — on how to avail of its offer. The airline said the reduced fares are just enough to recover actual cost of operating the flights, such as jet fuel, landing and parking fees, crew salaries, other airport fees, among others. Lucio Tan, owner of the carrier and one of the country’s most successful business tycoons, ordered the fare discount as Filipinos in the quake- and tsunami-crippled country, which is also hobbled by a continuing nuclear accident, are facing involuntary repatriation. Last Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it will repatriate "on mandatory basis" Filipinos who are within the 50-km radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. It also said the Philippine government will declare a voluntary repatriation for Filipinos within the 50-km to 100-km radius of the nuclear power plant. Nearly 2,000 Filipinos, not counting children, are being targeted for repatriation, the department said. The Japanese government had adjusted the crisis level of the nuclear power plant accident to Level 7 because of the widespread accumulation of radiation leaks. A Level-7 incident means a major release of radiation with a widespread health and environmental impact. The Fukushima Daiichi power plant is located on a 3.5-square-km site in the towns of Okuma and Futaba in the Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The power plant became "disabled" after a magnitude-9 earthquake and a ten-meter-high tsunami hit Japan on March 11. The cooling systems of the plant's nuclear reactor were disabled and triggered radiation leaks. This incident forced the evacuation of people residing near the nuclear power plant.—Jesse Edep/JV, GMA News