AKLAN – Kalibo Sangguniang Bayan (SB) members sound an alarm on the number of domestic flights to Kalibo International Airport.
The drop in domestic flights is threatening the recovery of many economic activities, according to the SB members.
Before the pandemic, 30 regional flights from South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and mainland China and 10 domestic flights used to operate daily at Kalibo International Airport.
After the pandemic, air travel demand at Kalibo airport was impacted by the huge surge of Boracay tourists who preferred to fly directly to Caticlan airport in Malay, Aklan.
Currently, three domestic carriers—Philippines Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and AirAsia Philippines—offer four to five daily flights from Manila to Kalibo.
With this, the Kalibo SB, during a regular session on Monday, urged the airline companies to add more domestic flights to and from Kalibo International Airport.
The councilors will meet the airline executives as they look forward to finding solutions to ramp up domestic flights to Kalibo, citing that the town is a good Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions destination.
The local government, through Kalibo mayor Juris Sucro, also has plans to build more tourism infrastructure and necessary facilities./PN
