Airlines

PAL boosts Cebu hub operations ahead of peak travel season

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A Philippine Airlines Airbus A321-231(SL) at Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 2. (Photo: PAL)

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has announced a significant expansion of its Mactan-Cebu International Airport hub operations. The move comes in anticipation of heightened travel demand during the upcoming peak summer months.

By April 2025, the flag carrier plans to operate 287 weekly round-trip domestic flights connecting Cebu with 18 destinations across the Philippines. This represents a notable 10% increase in flight frequencies from the Cebu hub.

Beyond adding more flights, PAL will also increase seat availability by deploying larger aircraft on key routes. This includes utilizing 199-seater Airbus A321s instead of the smaller 86-seater De Havilland Dash 8-400 NGs on select services.

These combined enhancements will boost PAL’s weekly seat capacity to and from Cebu by over 39,000 seats, marking a 17% increase. This gives travelers more flexible options for reaching popular destinations.

Passengers will benefit from increased access to leisure spots like Boracay (via Caticlan), Coron (Busuanga), Siargao, and Puerto Princesa in Palawan. The expansion also reinforces Cebu’s position as a major business and tourism gateway.

Specific routes seeing frequency boosts include Cebu-Caticlan (Boracay), increasing from 14 to 21 weekly flights, and Cebu-Siargao, rising from 18 to 26 weekly flights.

Services to Palawan from Cebu will also double for Puerto Princesa (7 to 14 weekly) and increase for Coron (14 to 17 weekly). Additionally, Cebu-Tacloban flights will rise to 14 weekly, and Cebu-Davao services will reach 29 weekly flights.

“We invite travelers to make the most of the peak summer season by flying to these exciting destinations from Mactan-Cebu,” said PAL Express President Rabbi Vincent Ang. He added that the expansion reflects PAL’s commitment to boosting connectivity, the economy, and tourism via its Cebu hub.

The airline maintains robust connectivity between Cebu and Manila with 11 daily flights. Recent additions include three weekly flights connecting Catarman, Samar directly to Cebu.

PAL is also growing its international footprint from Cebu, having launched Osaka flights last December and with Ho Chi Minh City services planned for May 2025. These join existing routes to Tokyo Narita and Seoul Incheon. However, the launch of the new service to Vietnam also marks the end of flights to Bangkok by April 29.

Written by
Dirk Andrei Salcedo

Dirk is the founder and editor-in-chief of Aviation Updates Philippines (AUP), a platform dedicated to providing the latest news and insights on the aviation industry in the Philippines. With a strong passion for aviation and a background in computer engineering, he manages all aspects of AUP, from website development to content curation.

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