Airlines add flights to other tourist spots

MANILA, Philippines — Anticipating the shutdown of Boracay within the month, Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific and other local carriers have added flights to other tourist destinations in an effort to recover expected losses.

 “We are adding flights to Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu and Puerto Princesa effective April 20. Soon after that, we will add flights from Cebu to Busuanga, Clark to Cebu, Clark to Busuanga and even flights from Manila to Dumaguete and Manila to Cagayan de Oro,” said Jessica Abaya, PAL chief customer experience officer, in an interview with ANC. 

Without giving the exact figures of projected losses, Abaya described these as a “short-term hit,” adding that while Boracay is one of PAL’s top summer destinations “year round, our top city destinations are Cebu and Davao.”

“Our priority is to help passengers who would be affected by the closure of Boracay,” Cebu Pacific chief information officer Ma. Rosario Lagamon said.

Lagamon added that Cebu Pacific expected to minimize the impact of the shutdown by “redeploying its capacity to other routes to between two to five percent.” 

For its part, AirAsia is temporarily suspending or reducing its Caticlan and Kalibo flights, the airline said in a statement.

The Boracay market is served with nearly 40 daily flights, ferrying mostly Chinese, South Korean and European visitors, the largest markets of the country’s tourism industry.