Philippine Airlines (PAL) achieved a historic milestone as it transported Pope Francis during his five-day apostolic visit to the Philippines in January 2015, serving survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda).
The national flag carrier deployed an Airbus A320 aircraft to fly the pontiff from Manila to Tacloban on January 17. The papal flight crew included A320 Chief Pilot Captain George Alvarez, Flight Operations Vice President Captain Roland Narciso, and Captain Skee Tamayo.
In Tacloban, Pope Francis celebrated Mass near the airport, drawing more than 100,000 faithful. His motorcade then proceeded to the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo, Leyte, where he shared lunch with 30 survivors of various disasters in the Visayas region. The brief 15-20 minute gathering was followed by a visit to Palo Cathedral.
The Pope’s Tacloban visit was cut short on pilots’ recommendations due to an approaching tropical storm. The A320, callsign “Shepherd One,” departed at 1:00 p.m. and touched down at Villamor Air Base at 2:17 p.m. The pontiff spent the remainder of his third day at the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila.
On January 19, PAL operated flight PR-8010 from Manila to Rome using an Airbus A340-300. The papal flight departed Villamor Air Base on schedule at 10:12 a.m. and landed safely at Rome Ciampino Airport at 12:38 a.m. Philippine time the following day.
Following Vatican tradition, the flag carrier of a visited nation transports the Pope back to Rome. The Holy See does not maintain its own aircraft, typically chartering Alitalia for papal departures from Rome.
This was not the first time Philippine Airlines had the privilege of carrying a pope. In 1981, it flew Pope John Paul II to six domestic destinations within the Philippines, followed by flights to Guam and Tokyo Haneda. The airline also transported Pope John Paul II to Port Moresby after his attendance at the 1995 World Youth Day in Manila.
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