Six foreign airlines plan to launch flights to Luzon and the Visayas, the Tourism Department said Monday.
The department said the application of the six international carriers would open new services to Cebu, Caticlan, Kalibo, Clark and Manila to meet the anticipated increase in international arrivals.
Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo, in a report, identified the six airlines as West Air which seeks approval for the Chongking-Cebu route; Thai Smiles for Bangkok-Cebu; 9 Air for Guangzhou-Cebu; Hainan, for Haiku to Cebu and Manila; Jetstar for Singapore to Caticlan and Clark; and June Yao for Shanghai-Kalibo.
The department said prior visits to these countries helped the the agency land air negotiation agreements and action programs that would bring in more tourists from major source markets.
Teo’s first year in the office spurred the availability of 811, 044 new seats with the opening of new air routes.
The agency said in the first five months of 2017, foreign airlines like China Eastern, Sichuan Airlines, Xiamen Air, Lucky Air and Air Asia opened 192,660 seats while local carriers Philippine Airlines and Philippines Air Asia added 230,880.
