The city government of Borongan in Eastern Samar has announced the launch of Philippine Airlines (PAL) Manila-Borongan flight on November 25, the first major player in the airline industry to serve the route.

Rupert Ampil, Borongan city information officer and chair of the city’s flight operations said in a phone interview on Wednesday there would be a signing of agreement between PAL executives and Borongan Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda on October 25 to be witnessed by members of the city council.

The maiden flight is in time for the opening of the national surfing competition in Borongan, the capital of Eastern Samar province on November 26.

“We are very pleased with this development that we’re able to convince the airline. This is the first established commercial airline to operate in Borongan. There was a Clark-Borongan flights in the past, but it was even hard to access their booking system,” Ampil said.

PAL will fly from Manila to Borongan every Monday and Friday at 6 a.m.

The return flight from Eastern Samar to Manila is at 10 a.m. on the same days.

“These are critical days for travel. Visitors can have a weekend experience in Eastern Samar and those from the province can stay in Manila during weekdays,” Ampil added.

The official is upbeat about the local market in Eastern Samar with a voting population of more than 500,000 in one city and 22 towns.

The city government will also encourage local government units to patronize the flights for their official travels.

“If 5 percent of the population will travel in one year, that is already 25,000, more than enough to fill the 86 seats of the aircraft. We are banking on demand from locals more than tourism. Imagine the burden of travelling up to six hours from Eastern Samar to Tacloban to catch the flight,” Ampil said.

PAL will use an 86-seater turboprop aircraft.

Last August 1 to 3, key PAL personnel evaluated the airport’s operability and the market feasibility in Borongan and Eastern Samar, a standard practice for airlines ahead of potential flight operations in an airport.

The visit came two months after the Borongan City Airport got a go signal from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to accept flights operated by major airlines and to start seeking potential commercial airline partners.

Located in Punta Maria village, the airport’s 1.3-kilometer runway can only accommodate turboprop aircraft such as ATR72, Bombardier’s Q300, and Q400.

In 2019, Leading Edge serviced flights from Borongan to Clark and Cebu for only three months. (PNA)