Vanilla Air eyes flights to Cebu

Central Visayas is seen to get more share of Japanese tourists as low- cost airline Vanilla Air will start serving the Tokyo-Cebu route before the year ends, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo helped finalize the agreement with Vanilla Air to mount regular direct flights from Narita International Airport to Mactan- Cebu International Airport starting Dec. 25 this year.

Vanilla Air will be the first Japanese carrier to fly directly from Tokyo to outside of Metro Manila.

“We are elated over Vanilla Air’s report that all seats on the Narita-Cebu flight are all sold out, long even before its launch on Dec. 25, 2016,” Teo told Vanilla Air president Katsuya Goto during a meeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

“The entry of this first Japanese airline to provide nonstop service to Cebu is a welcome development since it has been branded as the ‘vacation destination’ of Japanese tourists,” she added.

According to Teo, the new flight would further position Cebu as the international gateway in the Visayas region.

“Furthermore, this new route would fulfill President Rodrigo Duterte’s vision to bring economic growth and development to Visayas by establishing Cebu as a major international gateway,” she said.

Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr., who represents the DOT at the Civil Aviation Board (CAB), assured the agency would help facilitate the processing of Vanilla Air’s Foreign Carriers Air Permit (FACP), a prerequisite for all international airlines to operate in a foreign country.