THE first passengers on the new Philippine Airlines Manila-Darwin route arrived in Darwin yesterday.
The new service is part of a major expansion by the airline and gives Territorians increased access — and perhaps cheap flights — to Manila. From there they can get connecting flights to Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States.
Philippine Airlines assistant vice-president of Government Affairs Jose E.L. Perez de Tagle said the daily Airbus A320 flight would ferry 156 passengers to and from the Territory’s capital and on to Brisbane and Perth. That was an extra 1092 seats each way every week, he said.
More than 50 per cent of the passengers were expected to be fly- in- fly- out workers initially, he said.
Darwin International Airport CEO Ian Kew said it was another demonstration of Darwin’s role as a gateway to Asia as they undertake their terminal expansion.
He said the airline handled 2.5 million passengers a week and the new flights were a 1 per cent increase in traffic.
The airline cannot carry Australian passengers on domestic legs.