|
|
Saturday, September 18, 2004
RP to give Asiana Airlines more flights (11:50 a.m.)
MANILA -- The Philippines will grant additional flights to South Korea's Asiana Airlines to Clark airport, a former US airbase north of Manila, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza said.
The additional flights will be granted during bilateral talks on air service agreements between the Philippines and South Korea later this year, Mendoza said.
"We will give Asiana additional rights to fly to Clark. We plan to give the Korean government additional frequency entitlements," Mendoza said, adding that the Philippines expects more flight entitlements to South Korea in return.
Mendoza did not say how many more flights would be granted to Asiana.
Asiana makes five chartered flights a week to Clark airport, located just north of Manila, on top of seven commercial and two cargo flights to the capital.
The South Korean carrier has been planning to increase flights to the Philippines to maintain its share of the growing Korean tourist market here.
Philippine airport authorities have said they will develop Clark into a major international gateway at the cost of at least two billion pesos (35.6 million dollars).
The sprawling Clark Airbase, once one of the largest overseas US airbases, was abandoned by US forces in 1991 after the eruption of nearby Pinatubo volcano damaged its facilities.
The Philippine government has cleared up Clark and turned it into a commercial airport and light industrial zone but despite its huge runways, it has largely been limited to handling domestic and charter flights. (AFP)
|
|
|
|
