Cebu Pacific is set to commence direct flights between Melbourne and Manila, with three new weekly services from August.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren welcomed the announcement, which will better connect Victoria to one of our state’s growing tourism markets.
The new services are expected to bring 41,000 visitors to Victoria each year, adding more than 68,000 seats each way every year to the Philippines.
Approximately 32,000 Filipinos visited Victoria in the twelve months to June 2017 – an increase of 25 per cent – and delivered an estimated $113 million to the state’s economy.
Cebu Pacific’s new route will pave the way for further business, tourism and trade opportunities between Victoria, the Philippines and Asia.
Based in Manila and one of Asia’s largest low-cost carriers, Cebu Pacific provides an extensive network of domestic and international services within Asia and to the Middle East.
Today’s announcement adds more direct flights between Melbourne and Manila, with Philippine Airlines already flying between both cities.
The new route comes as low-cost carrier airline Scoot increases its service between Melbourne and Singapore from five to seven days per week, bringing an additional 14,000 visitors to Victoria each year.
Melbourne Airport welcomed a record 35.15 million passengers through its terminals last year, including up to 10 million passengers from overseas.
That is why the Andrews Labor Government announced a $90 million boost to continue to grow this number and keep attracting new airline services to Victoria – supporting local jobs and boosting our visitor economy.
Cebu Pacific’s new direct flights between Melbourne and Manila will start on 14 August 2018, while Scoot’s new daily services from Singapore to Melbourne will commence from 5 June 2018.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren
“We’re thrilled to add more direct flights to Asia, opening up greater opportunities for Victorian jobs and businesses.”
“Securing this new Cebu Pacific route means we’ll soon have 35 international airlines flying in and out of Melbourne Airport – and that’s great news for our airline industry and economy.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020