PH, UAE hike cargo, passenger services

The  Philippines and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed an agreement that will double the cargo and passenger air services to address the rising travel demand between the two countries.

Carmelo Arcilla  executive director of the Civil Aeronautics Board, told reporters on the sidelines of the ECCP Aviation Summit in Makati City yesterday, UAE and the Philippines  last week concluded their two-day air talks and agreed to increase the current Manila to UAE flights from 18 to 21 flights, which is on top of the allocations for Cebu and Clark International Airport.

Arcilla said he hopes  local airlines will add flights as the economy continues to recover.

“UAE is one of the top destinations of our migrant workers that support the labor market in (that country,” Arcilla added.

Under the memorandum of understanding was signed after a round of talks on September 19 to 20 in Cebu, both countries also agreed to increase the air cargo service from 200 to 600 tons per week for every national carrier and approved the operation of the Airbus A380.

At present, the UAE-Philippines aviation market is served by Emirates, Etihad Airways, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air.

Meanwhile, Arcilla is optimistic passenger growth will be sustained this year driven by revenge travel.

In January to June, domestic passenger traffic stood at 14.6 million, 50 percent higher than last year, while international passenger volume grew by 142 percent to 8.92 million compared to the first semester of last year.

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