AirAsia Philippines increases flight frequencies to support influx of foreign travelers

AirAsia Philippines said Tuesday it has increased its flight frequencies in anticipation of the influx of foreign travelers after the government opened the country’s borders to tourists.

In a statement, AirAsia said beginning March 2022 its flights to Caticlan will be increased to 34 times weekly.

The low-cost carrier said that its flights to Iloilo will be increased to 14 times weekly, Tacloban to 24 times weekly, Panglao to 14 times weekly, Puerto Princesa to nine times weekly, Bacolod to 14 times weekly, Davao to 11 times weekly, Cagayan de Oro to nine times weekly, Kalibo to 11 times weekly, and Cebu to 21 times weekly.

“The increase in our flight frequency is part of our commitment to make sure that we will be able to prop up and support the demand towards summer,” said AirAsia Philippines spokesperson Steve Dailisan.

AirAsia said its destinations which include Clark, Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Caticlan, Davao, General Santos, Iloilo, Kalibo, Tagbilaran (Panglao), Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, and Zamboanga have started to accept fully vaccinated foreign visitors with only their vaccination cards as entry requirement.

Partially vaccinated tourists will also be allowed entry provided they submit a negative RT-PCR test result.

“We are thrilled about the latest development, as the months of March, April, and May are enticing months for foreign travelers especially those who love tropical islands and diving destinations,” said Dailisan.

“We truly commend the government’s effort to relax the country’s travel protocol and open its borders to fully vaccinated foreign travelers. The much anticipated foreign arrivals will likely jumpstart our tourism industry as we move forward towards post-pandemic recovery,” he added.

AirAsia said it is scheduled to open two new routes —Dumaguete in April and Roxas in June.

The airline added it will reopen its Bangkok and Bali flights next month and Incheon in April on top of the existing Singapore and Hong Kong flights.

Data from the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) showed that 79,337 international tourists arrived in the country from February 1 to February 17 with 91% fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

However, this is still far from the recorded 439,852 foreign arrivals in the same month pre-pandemic in 2020, but is also considered a significant jump from the recorded foreign arrivals in February 2021 with only 9,005, according to the Department of Tourism.

Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to increase after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) decided to honor the vaccination cards of 12 additional countries, namely Argentina, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, Indonesia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, and Spain as valid entry travel requirement.—AOL, GMA News