MANILA, 20 February 2020: Philippine Airlines will resume flights between Manila and Taipei Taoyuan on Thursday starting with four weekly services.
The airline plans to increase flights to daily on 3 March and restore the second daily flight 29 March.
The four weekly services will depart Manila on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 0625 and arrive in Taipei at 0840 using an Airbus A321.
Airlines in the Philippines and Taiwan cancelled flights after the Philippines introduced a travel ban on Taiwanese nationals earlier this month. It removed the ban at the weekend, but airlines say they will stagger the reintroduction of flights.
Restrictions remain on travel from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Tourism Secretary Bernadette-Romulo-Puyat estimated that travel bans had cost the Philippines USD291.71 million (PHP14.83 billion) during February alone.
Airlines are considering restoring flights, but they are approaching the situation with considerable caution as travel demand has dropped substantially on all routes in Asia.
Cebu Pacific and Taiwanese carriers China Airlines and Eva Air said they would continue with reduced flights to and from Taiwan for the remainder of the month.
China Airlines confirmed it would delay the launch of the Taoyuan-Cebu route from 29 March until 12 June. AirAsia Philippines said it was reviewing flight schedules following the government’s decision last Friday to lift the ban.
