Clark airport to open more flights to Cebu

Direct flights to and from Clark International Airport (Clark) to the country’s prime island tourist locations including Cebu would resume soon.

This is a very welcome development for the Department of Tourism as this is expected to boost tourism in the country at the same time also to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

For Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, the routes provide added connectivity to the country’s in-demand tourist destinations.

“After months of our continuous discussions with relevant aviation agencies and stakeholders such as the Department of Transportation, Cebu Pacific, and Philippine Airlines, we welcome these additional flights as it serves the Marcos administration’s efforts to vastly improve tourism connectivity and spread economic opportunity nationwide,” said Frasco, in a statement.

Cebu Pacific confirmed boosting the Clark hub with the combined 13 domestic and international routes.

The newly established flights will service Cebu, Caticlan, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod, General Santos, and Cagayan de Oro starting in April of this year, while the Puerto Princesa route will commence in June.

The international routes, on the other hand, include Clark to Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore.

Philippine Airlines, for its part, has announced that they will start flying flights from Clark to Caticlan beginning April 1, while Clark to Busuanga flights will commence on April 2, both on a scheduled basis.

“These flights will further invigorate the growing interest in our destinations among both domestic and international tourists, and further add to livelihood and employment opportunities for our tourism stakeholders and frontliners,” added Frasco.

In 2022, the industry generated over P214 billion in estimated revenues and created 5.2 million tourismrelated jobs accordingly.

Frasco noted that the reopening dates are very timely in order to meet market demand for flights to our key tourism destinations during the long Holy Week holidays.

In her first few months as tourism secretary, Frasco engaged in listening tours and discussions with various tourism stakeholders from the public and private sectors to align and properly act on the needs of the pandemichit industry.

The DOT, together with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), airline executives, and other concerned agencies, met last January 25 to discuss the enhancement of the utilization of the Clark International Airport.

The said meeting also identified ways to increase flights into Clark and establish it as a viable alternate airport and at the same time, help in the decongestion of the country’s main gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Currently, the said airport is only at 12 percent utilization, receiving only around 80,000 passengers a month despite its eight million annual passenger capacity.

“DOT has been working with the DOTr pushing for the maximization of the Clark International Airport with the goal of establishing it as a viable alternate airport so it will be utilized to its full potential. With the additional flights we meet a number of objectives: the decongestion of NAIA and minimizing crowding in other airports, as well as develop the region further and attract more tourism activities and businesses in the area,” stressed Frasco.