Local airlines ramp up flight frequencies

Local carriers Cebu Pacific, AirAsia Philippines, and Philippine Airlines have increased their flight frequencies as the government relaxed protocols for air travelers and opened the country’s borders to foreign visitors.

Interviewed on Dobol B TV on Saturday, Cebu Pacific spokesperson Carmina Reyes-Romero said the low-cost airline increased its flight frequencies to Boracay Island to 15 times daily, exceeding its pre-pandemic level.

“Flights to Dumaguete are 10 times weekly; for Cebu, it's 11 times daily, while Cagayan de Oro flights are seven times daily and Bohol are three times daily,” Romero said.

Likewise, Romero said there are four daily flights to Butuan, and three times to Puerto Princesa, adding that it will soon resume flights to Siargao.

In a separate interview on Dobol B TV, AirAsia Philippines spokesperson Steve Dailisan said the budget carrier will double its flights next month and will soon resume flights to its regional destinations.

Dailisan said AirAsia’s flights to Caticlan or Boracay are now 34 times weekly, “ganun din sa Iloilo (as with Iloilo).”

“Tumaas din ang bilang ng mga nagbu-book sa atin... ‘Yung forward booking natin, 'yung mga nagbu-book from 31 to 60 days, tumaas ng 14% to 16%,” he said.

For her part, PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said the flag carrier is operating six flights daily between Manila and Caticlan, and three times daily between Cebu and Caticlan.

“We restored flights between Manila and Siargao, we have also flights between Cebu and Siargao,” Villaluna said.

“We have restored all of our domestic routes pero pagdating sa international routes, hindi pa naibabalik ang sa Hong Kong dahil sa travel ban,” she added.

The three airline spokespersons said travel requirements vary in each destination, but some destinations accept vaccination cards in lieu of a negative RT-PCR test. —LBG, GMA News