Cebu Pacific to resume Caticlan flights March 1

MANILA, Philippines - After seven months of absence, low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) will resume its flights to Caticlan, the gateway to the resort island of Boracay, in Aklan on March 1.

CEB suspended its flights to Caticlan last July following the advice of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), as the runway of the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport in Caticlan was not long enough to accommodate its ATR 72-500 twin-turbo prop aircraft.

The aviation body also enforced a one-way landing, one-way takeoff policy at the Caticlan airport.

In a memorandum to CEB last Jan. 25, the CAAP said aircraft can now take off both ways on the runway of the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport.

In the event of unavoidable airport conditions, including a wet runway due to heavy rains and strong winds, flights to Caticlan may still be diverted to Kalibo, it said.

On March 1, CEB will gradually reintroduce its Caticlan service with five flights a day beginning with the transfer of four Manila-Kalibo flight and one Cebu-Kalibo flight to Caticlan. This transition will give time to retrain CEB’s ATR pilots on the Caticlan route.

Full operations will commence on March 28, with 11 Manila-Caticlan-Manila flights and one Cebu-Caticlan-Cebu flight.

CEB said the gradual resumption of its Caticlan flights is necessary to ensure that its ATR pilots are properly re-certified for the route.

“Inasmuch as we would like to resume our full Caticlan schedule, our main priority will always be the safety of our passengers,” said Candice Iyog, CEB vice president for marketing and distribution.

Iyog said CEB flew one million passengers to Boracay via Caticlan last year.

Prospective passengers are advised to call the CEB reservation hotline for updates on their flight schedules.

For safety considerations, travelers are allowed 10 kilograms for Caticlan and 15 kilograms for Kalibo.

CEB started its Caticlan operations in February 2008 without any untoward incidents.