ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/13 October) – Cebu Pacific Air, the country’s largest airline company, will make its maiden flight Friday from this city to the province of Tawi-Tawi via Bongao municipality, the provincial capital.
The maiden flight will leave the Zamboanga International Airport at 6:25 a.m. and will arrive at the Sanga-Sanga Airport in Bongao at 7:25 a.m.
The regular daily one-hour flight from Tawi-Tawi to Zamboanga is scheduled to depart at 7:55 a.m.
“CEB offers the lowest fare between Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi, its 50th destination. We are very optimistic about our Zamboanga operations, especially since this is our fourth route from this commercial center in Western Mindanao. We can see that the market for Cebu Pacific flights can really be stimulated by our trademark low fares,” CEB vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said in a statement Thursday.
Representatives from the local government and community stakeholders are among CEB’s first passengers from Zamboanga City to Tawi-Tawi Friday.
CEB’s lowest year-round fare for the Zamboanga-Tawi-Tawi flight is P599 and the new route would be served by an airbus (A319).
The Sanga-Sanga Airport already has the capability as its runway was extended from 1,608 to 1,930 meters in length and its width was increased from 18 to 30 meters two years ago.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Growth with Equity (GEM) Program chipped in P100 million while the Philippine government contributed P92.2 million as its counterpart for the expansion work.
Officials of the Tawi-Tawi Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier said the airport upgrade would give the province’s aquaculture and eco-tourism industries a competitive advantage.
Air Philippines also plies the Zamboanga-Tawi-Tawi route. (MindaNews)
