PAL eyes Borongan flights

BORONGAN CITY — The country’s flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is considering flying to the presently unserved Borongan City airport — a move that is seen to help the tourism and economic activity boom in Eastern Samar.

The airline’s management recent sent a team on 1 to 3 August to conduct an inspection at the Borongan City Airport and to evaluate the airport’s operability and take a closer look at the market feasibility.

Borongan City Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda said the community is excited with the prospect of having PAL operations in the city and welcomes such an opportunity.

“While we are excited to start operations in our airport, we give our partner-airline all the time they need to conduct all the processes to inform their decision. If this partnership pushes through, we are going to make sure that it will be mutually beneficial,” Agda said.

In July, Agda and chairperson for Borongan City Flight Operations Rupert Ambil met with the executives of the airline company in Pasay City to discuss the possibility of extending the flag carrier’s operation to the city.

Ambil said PAL’s interest “is a big next step in our bid to connect Borongan City to major cities in the country by air.”

“I am inspired by PAL’s positive outlook towards our request. Thank you to our friends from PAL for their prompt and quick action. I look forward to hearing the airplane voice over that says, ‘we have just landed in Borongan City’ soon,” Ambil said.

At present, passengers from Eastern Samar travel for four to six hours to Tacloban City where the nearest airport is located and flights of major airlines to Cebu and Manila are available.

Ambil said PAL’s interest ‘is a big next step in our bid to connect Borongan City to major cities in the country by air.’