THE airline of the once restricted communist country of Vietnam will soon fly directly to the Mactan Cebu International Airport after the signing of an agreement with the Philippines.
Undersecretary Aristotle Batuhan of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) is presently in Ho Chi Minh City for air negotiations.
“It’s not just for Mactan. We are increasing frequencies for Ho Chi Minh to Manila and Manila to Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi up to 5,000 seats per week,” Batuhan said.
There are also unlimited seats from points in the Philippines, except Manila, to points in Vietnam, except Ho Chi Minh and vice versa. Under this unlimited seats arrangment, direct flights for Cebu- Ho Chi Minh-Cebu or Cebu-Hanoi-Cebu can be arranged.
“I am signing the memorandum of understanding as head of the Philippine panel composed of representatives from DOTC, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Finance, Department of Tourism and Philippine Airlines. We’re meeting civil aviation officials from Vietnam,” Batuhan said.
In past decades, travel to and from Vietnam was restricted.
“Vietnam has about 90 million people. Hanoi is the political capital but Ho Chi Minh City is the commercial capital. Their premiere airport is in Ho Chi Minh but they are currently building a new airport facility in Hanoi,” he said.
Batuhan said that during the negotiations, Vietnam asked that the Philippines comply with Asean protocols on open skies, especially in the capital to capital travel or Manila to Hanoi and vice versa. He said, however, that they were forced to limit it to 5,000 seats because of congestion in Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
“We are encouraging them to fly directly to secondary airports especially Cebu, Clark and other international airports in the Philippines,” Batuhan said.
By: Elias O. Baquero
http://www.sunstar.com.ph
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