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Saturday, December 13, 2003
Qatar Airways plans daily Doha-Cebu flights
By Jessica B. Natad
IF the government will permanently grant Qatar Airways fifth freedom traffic rights, Cebu can expect daily direct flights from Doha, Qatar to Cebu via Singapore.
After the arrival of Qatar Airways’ Doha-Cebu maiden flight at the Mactan Cebu International Airport Thursday, Qatar Airways commercial general manager Mohd Saleh Fakhri said the airline hopes to increase its initial three times weekly flights to daily flights.
“With your help, we hope to have daily flights from Doha to Cebu because of our commitment to contribute to the tourism development of Cebu.,” he said.
The fifth freedom right allows the airline to go to a third point, Singapore, before proceeding to Cebu.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has allowed the airline to exercise fifth freedom rights for six months, during which time the two parties hope to settle the dispute that arose after the CAB granted Qatar Airways the right in October only to withdraw it later, saying it had made a “mistake.”
Qatar Airways Philippines and Micronesia area manager Mario Hachem earlier told Sun.Star that based on a study conducted by the airline, “our market (in the Doha-Cebu flight) will not only be the overseas Filipino workers, but also Europeans and those from the Middle East as well, who are looking for new destinations.”
After Thursday’s arrival in Cebu of the maiden flight, Ambassador of Qatar to the Philippines Ibrahim Al-Meghaiseeb said the direct flights were expected to increase the number of Filipinos working in Qatar from the present 35,000.
Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon added that the airline could facilitate the exchange of investors.
In a separate interview, Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. (CFIF) president Jay Yuvallos said the flights would help develop almost all sectors of Cebu’s economy, including the furniture manufacturing industry.
“The Middle East market is a big and growing market for Cebu furniture,” he said.
During the CFIF’s furniture fair last February, the Middle East accounted for the bulk of the sales at 34.19 percent.
(December 13, 2003 issue)
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