PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The local office of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said its Airbus A321 will start bringing direct flights in this city with an estimated 6,000 visitors monthly from Seoul, South Korea starting this weekend.
An estimated 800 passengers are also expected to arrive directly and weekly from Busan beginning July 26 until October 27 at the Puerto Princesa City International Airport.
Palawan PAL sales and services agent Daniel Vincent Gabuco said Wednesday that the first direct flight on June 23 will come straight from Incheon International Airport serving the Seoul capital area.
The flights from South Korea will be the first direct international journeys that will be catered by PAL, he said in an interview.
“The Korean passengers are those who were rerouted from Boracay. Since Palawan is a prime destination, the rerouting here can be the start of the continuous entry of Korean market in the province,” he said.
Of PAL’s 86 total aircraft fleet, Gabuco said around 30 Airbus A321 with 199 seating capacities will bring Koreans and other nationalities from Seoul to Puerto Princesa and vice versa.
Those that will fly in directly from Gimhae International Airport in Busan will only be four times a week until October. PAL will use the same Airbus to bring them to Palawan.
With this development, Gabuco said there is really a need now for Palawan to improve its tourist destinations, as well as tourism front-liner services to cater to passengers brought in by international flights.
“Our hope is that for our city government to develop another attraction that can cater to the incoming international markets like the Koreans or any other foreign market,” he expressed. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
