Air France resumes Manila-Paris flights after 20 years

French carrier Air France over the weekend resumed its direct flights between France and Manila, marking the return of the route after 20 years.

The inaugural flight left the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 at 9:50 p.m. on Sunday, December 8, 2024, and arrived at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport at 5:50 a.m. the following day.

The send-off ceremony was attended by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel, and New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC) general manager Lito Alvarez.

The thrice-a-week flights will leave NAIA every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 9:50 p.m., and arrive in Paris at 5:50 a.m. the next day. The return flights will depart Paris at 11:20 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and arrive at 7:30 p.m. the same day.

According to French Ambassador Fontanel, the resumption of the route was requested by travelers, as she assured that the Embassy can handle the anticipated increase in visa applications.

“Having this direct flight is a request, a Christmas wish for many Filipinos and French partners,” she said in September.

“Probably there will be an increase (in visa applications) so we will work a lot. The capacity of issuing visas will be the center of our work,” she said,” we have to make this direct flight a success.”—Jon Viktor Cabuenas/AOL, GMA Integrated News