Passengers flock to the terminal of the Bantayan Island Airport on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. CDN Digital photo | Morexette Marie B. Erram
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Beginning this August, travelers will finally have the option to fly directly to Bantayan in northern Cebu.
The Cebu Provincial government recently announced that regular flights between the mainland and Bantayan Island via Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) will resume operations this August 28.
According to the Capitol, the direct flights will be operated by King Aces Travel and Tours Service Inc. (KATTSI), a travel and tours firm.
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They will be utilizing two ATR aircrafts, which are twin-engine turboprops, each with a capacity to transport up to 70 passengers.
These are the same planes being used by other airline companies for short-haul flights, particularly those that connect Cebu and nearby tourist destinations such as Siargao and Camiguin islands.
The Cebu-Bantayan flights will fly twice a week – every Friday and Saturday, the Capitol added.
KATTSI is the travel and leisure subsidiary of a cooperative composed of active, retired and civilian members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
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It can be recalled that before the Covid-19 pandemic, there were direct flights connecting mainland Cebu and Bantayan Island in the north. But these flights were mostly chartered ones.
In turn, the Capitol, Department of Transportation (DOTr), and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), the state body co-running MCIA, decided to upgrade the airport in Bantayan to accommodate passenger aircrafts like the ATR.
These included putting up a passenger terminal and extending its runway from 1.2 to 1.5 kilometers.
Traveling to Bantayan Island, one of the most popular tourist destinations here, usually involved a five-hour trip via land and sea.
Air travel, on the other hand, cuts travel time between the two destinations from five hours to around 20 to 35 minutes.