Cebu Pacific resumes more local flights from Cebu, Davao hubs

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific over the weekend announced the resumption of local flights from Cebu and Davao as it seeks to restore full pre-pandemic capacity during the summer season.

Cebu Pacific said it would resume direct flights to four new destinations from Cebu this April — Calbayog, Surigao, Puerto Princesa, and Legazpi, bringing its Cebu flights to 21 domestic destinations.

It also boosted direct flights from Cebu to Manila, Davao, Iloilo, Zamboanga, Coron, Boracay, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Clark, General Santos, Siargao, Tacloban, Dumaguete, Pagadian, Butuan, Ozamis, Camiguin, and Dipolog.

The firm also resumed direct flights from Davao to Bohol, Iloilo, and Zamboanga this month, and would resume flights between Davao and Cagayan de Oro in May.

“Cebu and Davao are very important for us as they serve as our main hubs in the VisMin area. We know that now is the perfect time for us to resume these direct flights while we see an increase in overall passenger confidence,” Chief Commercial Officer Xander Lao said in a statement.

Its operator Cebu Air mounted 34,463 flights covering 3.411 million passengers in 2021, 32% lower than the previous year due to the high base recorded in the first quarter of 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commercial air travel to and from Metro Manila was restricted from March to May 2020, and resumed in June after the easing of the community quarantine.

Shares in Cebu Air closed last Friday at P47.5, down by 40 cents or 0.84%. — DVM, GMA News