Philippines

Philippine Airlines (PAL) scored 84.67% in Nov in Cirium’s On-Time Performance Monthly Report, becoming the most punctual operator in the Asia Pacific region for the 4th consecutive month and the 5th time in 2025. PAL’s OTP in Nov dropped slightly due to a software update for Airbus aircraft. In Southeast Asia, Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines respectively recorded 75.37% and 75.15%

Philippine Airlines will resume Manila to Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands flights on 29 Mar 2026, with 2 flights per week

Cebu Pacific will launch direct flights between Manila and Riyadh from 1 Mar, targeting Filipino migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. The airline will operate four flights per week on the route

The Department of Tourism (DOT) was asked by a Senator to address the increasing domestic airfares during the plenary debates on the 2026 DOT budget. He added that people prefer to go to overseas destinations, as some international round-trip tickets are less expensive than one-way domestic tickets

Demand for air travel between Malaysia and the Philippines is getting strong, supported by a steady flow of business, leisure, and overseas worker travel. Cebu Pacific Air Chief Marketing Officer said, the airline’s Manila-KL route is the busiest in its Southeast Asian network, and recorded a 26% YoY growth during the peak period and +11% YoY during the off-peak period. Cebu Pacific flies daily on this route using A321neo. She added that before they launch flights to other parts of Malaysia, like Penang, Kota Kinabalu or Kuching, Cebu Pacific Air plans to add flights to its KL route. The peak travel season between Malaysia and the Philippines is between Dec and May, for the Christmas and the early-year travel, and Jul-Sep is the off-peak travel season. She added that they previously partnered with Scoot Airlines through the Value Alliance, and said there are no formal partnerships with AirAsia in the plan, but a stronger cooperation with a low-cost carrier in ASEAN will speed up regional connectivity and keep the fare competitive for the passengers

Jetstar Airways launched a direct flight between Perth and Manila on 28 Nov, with 3 flights per week. Jetstar also launched a direct seasonal flight between Brisbane and Cebu from 3 Dec 2025 to 16 May 2026, with 3 flights per week. The Philippines welcomed 243,423 tourists from Australia from Jan-Oct 2025, +16.62% YoY and +7.63% vs pre-pandemic levels. The Department of Tourism’s survey shows 68% of Australian tourists visit the Philippines for vacation, and 58% tried Filipino foods. The popular destinations for Australian tourists are Cebu, Puerto Princesa, and Boracay Island. Western Australia and Brisbane host larger Filipino communities, 47,000 in Western Australia, and 74,000 in Queensland as of 2021, according to the Census Bureau of Australia

Philippine Airlines will start flying to Palau from Mar 2026 twice per week

BOC Aviation will lease 2 Airbus A350 aircraft to Philippine Airlines on long-term operating leases, with first delivery slated for Dec 2025

Philippines Airlines will launch Manila-Palau flights from 29 Mar 2026, with 2 flights per week

Philippine Airlines (PAL) just received the delivery of 5 Airbus A320, and will receive another aircraft by the end of 2025. In 2026, PAL will receive 3 more aircraft. With these new aircraft, PAL has increased its fleet to 80 aircraft, and for the peak travel season, PAL added flights to Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Legazpi (Daraga), Dumaguete, and Tacloban

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said that air travel recorded 46.84 million passengers from Jan-Sep 2025, 78% of the 2024 air travel volume of 59.91 million, and the new post-pandemic high. Domestic passenger volume reached 24.95 million, and international passengers reached close to 22 million. Cebu Pacific controls 55% of the market share, as it carried 13.62 million domestic passengers together with its subsidiary Cebgo, from Jan-Sep 2025 Philippine Airlines (PAL) accounts for 30% with 7.42 million AirAsia Philippines, 14% with 3.4 million AirSwift, owned by Cebu Pacific, carried 328,494 passengers Sunlight Air, 124,436 Royal Air Philippines, 45,970 Island Aviation, 8,736 Foreign airlines got 57% of the market share, with 12.37 million passengers. The Philippines recorded 30.53 million passengers in 2019

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) signed a deal with PLDT Inc to provide digital infrastructure to 16 airports in the country. PLDT Enterprise will offer internet access and structured connectivity to Clark, Tuguegareo, Bicol, Puerto Princesa, Laoag, Bacolod, Silay, Tacloban, Kalibo, Mactan, Zamboanga, Davao, General Santos, Laguindingan, and Pagadian airports. The service will also cover the Civil Aviation Training Centre and the Philippine Air Traffic Management Centre

Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific announced that they were actioning immediate software rollbacks on their A320 fleets after the advisory issued by Airbus, on 29 Nov

84 Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines flights were cancelled after the A320 advisory

The Air Carriers Association of the Philippines announced that 14,000 passengers were impacted due to the Airbus A320 advisory, with 75 aircraft in the country affected

Air operations have returned to normal after the A320 recall. It disrupted 93 domestic flights

Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc (AIC) announced all important upgrades at Bohol-Panglao International Airport (BPIA) in the Visayas and Laguindingan International Airport in Northern Mindanao have been completed

Cebu Pacific has received its 13th Airbus A330neo aircraft, becoming the largest A330neos operator in Asia. The aircraft is the third of four A330neos expected to arrive in 2025. The aircraft is deployed on domestic routes, starting with 4X weekly Manila-Puerto Princesa flights, while daily Manila-Bohol flights started on 16 Nov

The New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) said that 24 new self check-in kiosks with facial recognition system are now operational at NAIA Terminal 1

AirAsia Philippines is strengthening efforts to reach its 7 million passengers goal by year-end, amid cancellations due to typhoons

Bohol-Panglao International Airport (BPIA) has welcomed the commencement of wide-body aircraft operations, starting with Cebu Pacific’s 459-seater A330 aircraft for its Manila-Tagbilaran route

The Civil Aviation Board (CAB) reported that air passenger volume reached 46.84 million in Jan-Sep, +6.247% YoY. Domestic passenger volume stood at 24.95 million, +5.36% YoY, while international passengers reached 21.89 million, +7.25% YoY. Cebu Pacific and CebGo accounted for 12.06 million and 1.5 million passengers, respectively, while AirSwift Transport Inc., recently acquired by Cebu Pacific, saw 328,494 passengers. Philippine Airlines saw 1.02 million passengers, while PAL Express saw 6.40 million. AirAsia Philippines saw 3.40 million passengers. Sunlight Express Airways saw 124,436 passengers. Cebu Pacific reported a passenger volume of 22.03 million in Jan-Oct, +12.3% YoY. Domestic passengers accounted for 16.43 million, while international passengers accounted for 5.60 million. CAB reported that foreign airlines carried 12.37 million international passengers in Jan-Sep, while Philippine carriers carried 9.53 million passengers