Philippines carriers cutting back on flights to China

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s air carriers are cutting back their China flights in the face of weak bookings arising from geopolitical tensions and the regulatory ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

Sources from the aviation industry told The STAR that commercial demand for Manila flights to China has started to weaken in light of the state of affairs in the West Philippine Sea.

Further, air travel from China is on a downward spin now that the government is enforcing a total ban on POGOs, as instructed by President Marcos.

In an advisory, low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific confirmed that it is suspending its Manila-Beijing trips until further notice. For context, the airline has yet to restore the service since the pandemic, but was planning to return to Beijing had conditions been better.

“Cebu Pacific advises its passengers that flights between Manila and Beijing will be suspended, effective March 30, 2025 until further notice. As such, Flights 5J 672 and 5J 673 between Manila and Beijing are canceled,” Cebu Pacific said.

Earlier, Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Alexander Lao said the airline is staying off China for the meantime to redeploy its aircraft to high-demand destinations.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), for its part, is also reducing flight frequencies to China in response to the declining demand.

PAL executive vice president and general counsel Carlos Luis Fernandez said Manila services to China would be reduced on weak bookings in the pandemic aftermath, keeping only Hong Kong, Jinjiang, Shanghai and Xiamen in its flight network.

“PAL’s decision to reduce flights to China aligns with a broader trend, as the Chinese market has been slower to recover compared to other regions following the pandemic. Further, many airlines from different countries have also cut back on routes to China due to weak demand,” Fernandez told The STAR.

During his third State of the Nation Address, President Marcos issued a blanket ban on POGOs, citing the social ills they brought to the Philippines.

Bilateral ties with China were also worsening prior to this directive on incidents of Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

China used to be the biggest source of foreign visitors to the Philippines prior to the pandemic in 2019, making up at least a fifth, or 1.74 million, of the 8.26 million total.

Airline analyst Center for Aviation believes that the Chinese market would only go back to 2019 levels next year, flagging risks from slow recovery to worsening geopolitics.