The governments of the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to amend their air service agreement (ASA) as demand ramps up.
According to Carmelo Arcilla, executive director at the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), Philippine-UAE air talks last week proved successful as the countries agreed to increase the flights of Emirates of Dubai from 18 flights a week in Manila to 21 flights in Manila.
The discussions were held from 19 to 20 September in Cebu City.
The Philippine air services negotiating panel was composed of officials from the CAB, the Departments of Transportation, Foreign Affairs and Tourism, as well as from Clark International Airport Corp. and the local airline companies.
“This is on top of flights that they [Emirates] are making in Cebu and Clark which they committed to maintain for at least three years and hopefully beyond. They are under obligation to operate that because we are promoting our secondary gateway,” Arcilla said.
The signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) also included an increase in air cargo from 200 to 600 tons per week for the national carrier and the operation of Airbus A380 aircraft.
In exchange, the Philippines granted three flight entitlements between Manila and UAE.
The local carriers did not seek additional flights but the hope is they should because the economy is recovering and more Filipino workers deploy to the UAE which is a top destination supporting the UAE labor market.
Data show a total 1.83 million overseas Filipinos work in the UAE in 2021.
Both the Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific fly to Dubai from Manila.
