MORE CARGO FLIGHTS. Additional cargo flights are opened by Cebu Pacific Air from General Santos City to Manila in the wake of the suspension of passenger flights amid the lockdowns due to the 2019 coronavirus disease threat. The airline commissioned an Airbus A320 for three more cargo flights every week. (PNA GenSan file photo)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Cebu Pacific Air has chartered more cargo flights to facilitate the shipment of food products, including tuna, from the city and the neighboring areas to Manila.
Edgardo Cueto, manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), said Wednesday the airline has commissioned an Airbus A320 for three more cargo flights to Manila every week to augment the five regular cargo flights of Cebu Pacific’s ATR 72 freighters every week.
Each additional flight, scheduled from Tuesday to Thursday, has an estimated cargo capacity of nine tons or 9,000 kilos, almost the same capacity as the ATR 72, he said.
Cueto said the first Airbus A320 cargo flight left the city international airport around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and the regular ATR flight at 4:30 p.m.
The shipment was composed of asparagus, assorted vegetables, fruits, prawns, fish, and other seafood products, he said. The products were previously shipped to Manila via seven daily outbound passenger flights of Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines.
All passenger flights to and from the city had been suspended since March 17 due to the lockdown in Metro Manila and other areas in the wake of the 2019 coronavirus disease or Covid-19 threat.
“This is a big relief to our producers and shippers as they mainly relied on the suspended passenger flights for their cargo,” he told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in a phone interview.
Cueto said Cebu Pacific agreed to open the additional cargo flights following negotiations with local shippers, in coordination with the city government. (PNA)
