Emirates told to stop 1 of 3 daily Manila-Dubai flights

By: Miguel R. Camus - 10 years ago

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Domestic rivals turned temporary allies Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air scored a victory against Emirates over key Manila-to-Dubai flights.

The Civil Aeronautics Board, following a meeting on Dec. 11, ordered Emirates to stop selling a third daily flight on the Manila-Dubai route beyond a Dec. 26 deadline given by the government, saying this was illegal, CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla said in a text message.

Emirates was also fined P1.8 million for violating the rules, he added.

Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific, which operate their own Manila-Dubai flights, ran to the CAB amid their own plans to expand in the lucrative market, which is important for Filipinos traveling to the Middle East for work.

Emirates, they argued, should stop using one of its three daily flights from Manila to Dubai after its codeshare deal with Philippine Airlines was scrapped a few months ago.

Emirates has so far been allowed to continue its third daily flight after two 30-day extensions were given by the CAB, the latest of which ends on Dec. 26.

However, Emirates continued to sell tickets for these flights beyond Dec. 26 all the way until October 2015.

“Emirates does not have the authority to operate the third daily flight beyond Dec. 26, 2014,” Arcilla said.

“Emirates is also penalized in the amount of P1.8 [million] for violating the rules when it sold services until October 2015 for a third daily flight, knowing that its authority to operate said flight is only until December 26, 2014,” Arcilla said.

“The law prohibits an airline from selling flight services without authority to operate such flight, obviously for reasons of public policy that seeks to protect the public from the hazards arising from the uncertainty and unreliability of an unauthorized flight,” he added.