More international air routes from Cebu soon

CEBU, Philippines - More new international routes from Cebu will soon open as it emerges as the fastest growing air hub outside of Manila.

Erwin Balane, route development head of the Department of Tourism, yesterday said that the new routes coming to Cebu are a result of the intensive promotion of the Philippines' second largest urban area to airline companies.

He said a number of new routes are on the pipeline but refused to disclose these yet, saying the applications still have pending requirements to comply. 

In fact, he said a group of chartered flight operators from Beijing are coming to Cebu next week for a familiarization tour here and in Bohol for a possible Beijing-Cebu route.

A chartered flight from Chengdu in China to Cebu is also being eyed, Balane added.

In the first quarter of the year, at least four new international destinations out of Mactan-Cebu International Airport were launched.

These are EVA Air's Cebu-Taipei, Philippine Airlines' Cebu-Los Angeles, Xiamen Air's Cebu-Xiamen and Emirates Airlines' Cebu-Dubai flights.

Recently Thai Smile Aiways, a Thai Airways subsidiary, announced to begin its non-stop service from Cebu to Bangkok this month.

Moreover, according to a report from Nikkei Asian Review last month, budget carrier Vanilla Air, a wholly owned unit of Japan's ANA Holdings, will offer direct flights between Narita in Japan and Cebu by the end of 2016, becoming the first Japanese airline to launch a regular non-stop service to the central Philippine island.

The report noted the daily round-trip flights from Narita Airport to Cebu will begin on December 25.

Currently, regular direct service between Narita and Cebu is offered by Philippine Airlines with two daily round-trip flights. Also, budget carrier Cebu Pacific operates four round-trip flights a week.

Total arrivals in Cebu in the first semester reached 2.5 million, up four percent.

MCIA's private operator, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., continues to embark on new airlines and destination marketing initiatives.

Data showed that the Mactan-Cebu airport posted a 12-percent growth in both passenger and aircraft traffic in the first five months of 2016.

The MCIA recorded 3.715 million passengers both domestic and international from January to May this year, up 12 percent from 3.320 million in the same period last year, official data showed.

MCIA had 2.775 million domestic passengers and 939,608 international travelers in the five-month period.

MCIA also saw a 12 percent rise in aircraft traffic in the first five months to 29,441 domestic and international flights.

During the period, the airport recorded 23,445 domestic flights and 5,996 foreign flights. (FREEMAN)