An aircraft is welcomed with a water cannon salute upon its arrival at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. | file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Airport authorities from Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) welcomed the resumption of direct flights between Cebu and Dubai operated by airline giant Emirates.
In a press release, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) announced that Emirates has relaunched its direct service between Cebu and Dubai since August 20.
The Cebu-Dubai direct service commenced with two flights weekly, every Tuesday and Thursday, said GMCAC.
This is the second direct flight serving international destinations whose operations have resumed after lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic were eased. Earlier, Qatar Airlines also announced the relaunching of its direct service between Cebu and Doha.
READ MORE: Direct flight from Cebu to Qatar resumes operations
Lawyer Steve Dicdican, general manager of MCIA Authority (MCIAA), said they welcomed this development, adding that it signaled progress towards recovery.
“We salute Emirates for resuming flights between Cebu and Dubai. This is truly a heartening development, and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport gives our reassurance that we are more ready than ever to safely welcome back our passengers. We are indeed excited to take one more step towards our recovery,” said Dicdican.
Andrew Acquaah-Harrison, chief executive advisor of GMCAC, also said officials of MCIA are looking forward to more relaunching of destinations from international airline operators in the future.
“Every airline that commences a new route or resumes a route temporarily suspended due to the pandemic becomes a ray of hope for travel choices and a brighter and safer future. We recognize the tremendous challenges airlines have had to overcome to resume routes and so we are truly grateful that Emirates selected Cebu as one of its early routes to resume services,” said Harrison.
MCIAA and GMCAC co-operate and co-manage MCIA. While MCIAA is under the Department of Transportation (DOTr), GMCAC, on the other hand, is a privately owned consortium.
Emirates first operated its direct service between Cebu and Dubai in March 2016 with two-class Boeing 777-300ER. /bmjo