The holidays are far from over for thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs

Without intending to, at least 20,000 vacationing OFWs are now on extended Christmas leave due to a shortage of flights, the local recruitment industry reported Friday.

Local recruitment leaders said the OFWs who came home for Christmas and New Year were unable to leave the country and go back to their employment abroad immediately after the holidays because they had a hard time getting bookings.

"While a majority of the vacationing OFWs have already returned abroad, about 20,000 are still here due to lack of airline seats," local recruitment official Lito Soriano said.

Soriano said a majority of those affected by the flight shortage are OFWs employed in the Middle East.

According to Soriano, lack of airline flights after the holidays is an annual problem for the local recruitment industry because of the huge number of OFWs who arrive in the country during the holidays.

"There are not enough airline seats from December to January and this is not just the problem of the government. It is everybody’s concern," Soriano pointed out.

Soriano said some foreign employers have even extended their assistance to the Filipino workers just so they could get a booking and return to their work at the soonest possible time.

Soriano called on the country’s flag carrier to consider plying the Middle East route again to resolve the problem.

"We are expecting a surge in the hiring of OFWs in the Middle East this year so we hope Philippine Airlines would reconsider the market," Soriano said.

He added that 100,000 jobs are available for OFWs in the Middle East this year alone.

"We have a standing 100,000 job orders from the Middle East. The only problem now is getting the qualified workers to fill up the manpower requirement," Soriano said.

By MAYEN JAYMALIN
The Philippine Star

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