By Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA
MANILA — Philippine Airlines (PAL) president and chief executive officer, Jaime Bautista, said Tuesday the carrier eyes offering the Tel Aviv, Israel route.
“There’s a clamor for it, and the (Philippine) government approached us and asked us to study having this route,” he said during the launch of PAL’s three new international destination offerings held in Manila.
Bautista said the request came after President Rodrigo Duterte made an official visit to Israel in September last year.
“(This route) will be possible if (PAL) would be allowed to use the Saudi Arabia air space,” he remarked.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), he said, has been coordinating with its counterpart to allow the Philippine carrier to use the Saudi Arabia air space.
“There is no final word yet. CAB is still waiting for its counterpart’s response,” he said.
The executive, however, noted that PAL has been closely coordinating with the Philippine government in pursuing this route.
“Once the use of air space is approved, we would only need at least six months before we could operate there,” Bautista said, adding that the six months will be used to market PAL’s services.
