MACTAN, Cebu—Emirates Airline touched down at Mactan-Cebu International Airport Wednesday afternoon, as a part of new daily circular service from Dubai to Cebu and Clark.
“We are happy and very excited with the new circular flights. The demand is huge and it’s growing,” Emirates country manager for the Philippines Abdalla Al Zamani told reporters.
“We believe that the demand will increase even further and will enhance the connectivity of Cebu and Clark and will give our travelers more choice that will contribute to the inbound tourism, trade and it will open up more markets for Filipino products,” he said.
Al Zamani said the “numbers are very encouraging” for the new circular flight.
Emirates senior vice president commercial operations in the Far East Badr Abbas said the launch of the circular service with the opening of Emirates’ second and third gateways in the country after Manila represented the airline’s strengthening commitment to the Philippines.
Emirates started flying to Manila in 1990.
“Cebu and Clark have become the 151st and 152nd destinations on our ever-expanding global network in 80 countries across six continents, and this new addition opens the Philippines to a world of more opportunities both for business and leisure,” Abbas said.
Abbas said with a convenient stop in Dubai, travelers from Cebu would be able to conveniently connect to 39 cities in Europe, 16 in the Middle East as well as a number of destinations across Africa and South America.
Abbas said trade relations between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates had flourished since Emirates began operations in the Philippines 26 years ago.
“Globally, Dubai is recognized as an important trade hub, and is popular among Filipino companies to re-export their products to the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia,” he said.
Emirates’ fights to and from the Philippines cater to the needs of the Filipino market with Filipino-speaking cabin crew on board and inflight cuisine options with popular Filipino dishes.
Emirates has over 1,050 Filipino cabin crew.
Al Zamani also said the airline was exploring the possibility to expand operations in the Philippines. “We continue to analyze and assess any opportunities and we will be happy to grow in Manila and other cities in the Philippines,” he said.
Emirates also added four additional weekly flights from Dubai to Manila, bringing its total weekly flights to 18.
Government data showed there were over 700,000 Filipinos working in UAE. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific also fly to Dubai from Manila.