Airport News Japan

Bilateral Agreement Increases Transport Capacity between Japan and Philippines

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A lobby in Centrair where Philippines flights operate

On November 28, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced that an agreement had been reached at bilateral aviation talks between Japan and the Philippines, and that transport capacity between the two countries would be greatly expanded.

According to the terms of the agreement, embarkation points (i.e. airports) in Japan and the Philippines will be liberalized, and transport capacity on routes to Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka and elsewhere will be increased by a total of fifty-eight flights per week. The breakdown of the added flights is: fourteen between Kansai/Chubu and Manila; six between Kansai/Chubu and Clark; ten between Fukuoka and Manila; and twenty-eight flights between other airports (excluding those in Tokyo and Manila). All departure volumes are calculated based on the assumption that aircraft such as the Airbus A320 (present seating capacity 156-179) will be used.

The winter 2008 schedule has fifty-one total weekly flights operated by three airlines flying between the two countries (passenger flights only). They include Cebu Pacific, a Philippine budget airline that began flights between Kansai and Manila on November 20. In 2007, 1.36 million passengers flew the route over the year.

Cebu Pacific Air