THE GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) with the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) welcomed Qatar Airways' relaunching of its direct service from Cebu to Doha, Qatar.

Since July 24, 2020, the airline has three weekly flights from MCIA to Hamad International Airport.

The Cebu-Doha service will operate every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday with a Booeing 777-300 aircraft and a capacity of 42 business class seats and 312 economy class seats.

A water canon salute welcomed the inaugural Doha flight that arrived in Cebu Friday afternoon, July 24.

Lawyer Steve Dicdican, MCIAA general manager and chief executive officer, said they want to help bring home the Filipinos to their families and at the same time slowly jumpstart the economy.

"Despite the challenges we have encountered at the start of the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the relaunching of Qatar Airways' Cebu-Doha route gives us hope to push forward and remain resilient through these tough times," he said.

Andrew Acquuah-Harrison, GMCAC chief ecxecutive advisor, also said the relaunching of the Doha service shows that despite the challenges of the current pandemic, they continue to give passengers options to return to the Philippines or connect them to their destinations. (WBS with PR)