Cebu Pacific restarts Laoag-Manila flights

At least 100 passengers aboard a Cebu Pacific flight landed at Laoag International Airport on Monday morning (May 22) marking the local airline’s resumption of operations in this northern Luzon gateway. (Photo courtesy of Ilocos Norte provincial government)

MANILA  -Passengers from the Ilocos Region now have another option when going to Manila, an access point to international destinations, following the relaunch of Cebu Pacific’s Laoag flights.

The Gokongwei-led airline, in a statement on Monday, said it restarted daily flights between Laoag and Manila on May 22. Flights were stopped in 2017 due to “commercial reasons.”

This is the budget carrier’s 35th destination in its domestic network.

“We are excited to fly again to Laoag as we continue to grow our domestic network and provide accessible and affordable air travel to every Juan. The relaunch of this route will also strengthen Laoag’s position as a leading tourism and cultural hub in north Luzon,” said Xander Lao, president and chief commercial officer of the budget carrier.

The provincial government of Ilocos Norte, the hometown of President Marcos, welcomed the route’s relaunch.

“We are thrilled to welcome back Cebu Pacific to our province, as this signals a renewed hope for our tourism industry,” Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc said.

He said they were hoping more airlines would follow suit as the province continued to “revitalize our economy and bring back the vibrancy of Ilocos Norte’s tourism sector.”

Cebu Pacific noted that passengers from Ilocos Region can also now conveniently access 23 international destinations when they fly to Manila. These include Bangkok, Dubai, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Narita, Singapore, Sydney and Taipei.

It has been beefing up its domestic and international network following the easing of border restrictions and resurgence of air travel demand.

Earlier this month, the low-cost airline received another A320neo (new engine option) unit from international aircraft leasing company Avolon. Cebu Pacific earlier said it was leasing an additional five aircraft this year.

In the first quarter, it booked a net income of P1.08 billion, a turnaround from a P7.61-billion net loss. This was the first time Cebu Pacific registered profitability since 2020.