Cebu Pacific resumes international flights from Cebu in July

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Cebu Pacific aircraft
Cebu Pacific on July 3 will begin operating twice weekly flights from Cebu to Seoul (Incheon) every Thursday and Sunday.
  • Cebu Pacific resumes international flights from Cebu in July
  • The first international flight will be to South Korea on July 3
  • The budget carrier will operate twice-weekly Cebu-Seoul (Incheon) flights starting July 3 as South Korea reopens to tourists
  • The airline is looking to expand its international network further after operating more than 100% of its pre-pandemic domestic capacity

Cebu Pacific is resuming international flights from Cebu, beginning with services to South Korea in July.

On July 3, Cebu Pacific will begin operating twice weekly flights from Cebu to Seoul (Incheon) every Thursday and Sunday, the airline said in a statement.

Flight 5J 128 is estimated to depart Mactan Cebu International Airport at 12:25 pm and arrive at Seoul International Airport at 6:10 pm. The return flight, 5J 129, will leave Seoul at 6:55 pm and arrive in Cebu at 10:50 pm.

“We are very happy to restart this flight, as we know passengers in the Visayas and Mindanao have been looking forward to travel internationally again without needing to pass by Manila,” Cebu Pacific chief commercial officer Xander Lao said in a statement.

“We hope to expand our international network further in the coming months as we’ve already stabilized operating over 100% of our pre-pandemic domestic capacity.”

Fully vaccinated travelers flying to Seoul need to bring their negative COVID-19 test result taken within 48 hours before departure, valid vaccination certificate, and a filled-out foreigner registration card.

For the rest of 2022, Cebu Pacific said in an earlier statement that the business outlook is better, driven by domestic recovery and re-openings of international destinations.

In the first quarter of 2022, the airline flew 16,521 flights, 128% more than last year, while its passenger traffic improved by 272%.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry last year remained apparent with Cebu Pacific reporting a bigger net loss of P24.9 billion from P22.2 billion net loss in 2020.

Revenue in 2021 declined 30% to P15.7 billion, mostly due to the 50% drop in passenger revenue to P6.3 billion from P12.6 billion in 2020, the low-cost carrier said in a statement.

As of March, Cebu Pacific had operated a network of 62 domestic and 16 international routes with a total of 1,839 scheduled weekly flights, as it gradually increased its operations following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.