Royal Air Philippines suspended all commercial flight operations starting Jan. 4, 2026, marking a major retreat for the carrier after more than 20 years of service in the archipelago.
The decision follows a sharp decline in passenger traffic led by cooling relations between Manila and Beijing and increased pressure from larger regional competitors.
The airline, owned by the Cambodia-registered Lanmei Group, has struggled to maintain its low-cost model as its primary customer base of Chinese and Korean tourists dwindled.
Lanmei Group is a private enterprise backed by Chinese civil capital and led by former Shenzhen Airlines president Li Kun.
Li founded the group with the vision of capturing the Southeast Asian budget travel market using investments from various Chinese aviation firms.
Data from the first nine months of 2025 highlighted the airline’s deteriorating position. International passenger volume fell to 51,800, while domestic traffic plummeted 63 percent to 38,800.
This followed a brief period of growth in 2023 and 2024, when the carrier served 100,000 and 116,000 passengers respectively.
Industry analysts suggest the suspension will disrupt regional tourism, particularly for travelers from Taiwan and China.
An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 passengers booked on flights from Taipei to Boracay between January and April 2026 now face cancellations.
Royal Air Philippines launched in 2002 as a charter service before pivoting to a low-cost carrier model in 2018.
It expanded its network to include Taipei, Hong Kong, and Quanzhou, primarily targeting resort destinations. However, the airline found itself squeezed by the rapid fleet expansions of dominant local players such as Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific.
The carrier’s heavy reliance on Chinese tourism became a liability as diplomatic tensions intensified. While the company has not disclosed the total financial impact in pesos, the loss of these key routes has made continued operations unsustainable in the current market climate.
Michael Wong Ho
