MANILA – Philippine Airlines will operate all its four flights daily to
Iloilo via the new Iloilo Airport in Santa Barbara-Cabatuan starting June
14, 2007, the flag carrier announced today.
A day earlier (June 13), President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo formally
inaugurates the airport. She will also be the guest of honor at the
opening of PAL’s Mabuhay Lounge at the new facility. PAL president Jaime
J. Bautista and Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza then co-host lunch
for President Arroyo and her party at the lounge.
Also on June 13, PAL ends its operations at the city’s old airport in
Mandurriao district, with the last PAL flight (PR 146) departing Mandurriao
airport at 7:20 p.m.
From June 14, PAL passengers and cargo customers in Iloilo are advised to
proceed to the new airport, located at Barangay Duyan Duyan in the
municipality of Cabatuan, Iloilo province. The facility is situated at the
juncture of Santa Barbara and Cabatuan towns, about 19 kilometers north of
Iloilo City.
All PAL flights to and from Iloilo will follow previously published
schedules. New-generation Airbus A320 and A319 aircraft will continue to
be deployed on the route.
PAL will be operating one of the first commercial flights to the new
airport on June 14. Flight PR 139, using an A320, is scheduled to depart
Manila at 5:10 a.m. and touch down at the modern, international-class
gateway at 6:20 a.m.
PAL first flew to Iloilo in February 1946, the city being one of the flag
carrier’s pioneer destinations. A Douglas DC-3 was deployed on the
inaugural flight.
Today, Iloilo is the third-busiest station in the PAL domestic network next
to Cebu and Davao, with four flights daily, from early morning to evening.
The city is connected to PAL’s 17 domestic and 24 international points via
the airline’s hub in Manila.
PAL’s telephone numbers at the new Iloilo Airport are: ticket office –
(033) 333-0003; cargo – (033) 333-0011; reservations – (033) 333-0004; and
check-in – (033) 333-0013.
PAL will maintain its old telephone numbers for reservations, (033)
320-3030 and 320-3131, until further notice. However, the previous numbers
for cargo (508-7176) and check-in (321-2805) shall no longer be in use from
June 14, 2007.
For further updates, visit www.philippineairlines.com.
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