THE returning bi-weekly Davao-Quanzhou-Davao flight officially launched its first flight on October 29, 2023, since it halted operations when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
The flights between Davao and Quanzhou used to operate twice a week, which started last December 18, 2018, but was halted during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic last February 2020.
The airline that operated these flights used Boeing 737 planes from Xiamen. This time, it will operate twice weekly, every Sunday and Wednesday.
Flight MF8696 would depart from Jinjiang International Airport in Jinjiang at 9 a.m. local time and arrive in Davao City at 12:30 p.m. local time, with a flight time estimated at three hours and 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, the return flight to Jinjiang departs from the Francisco Bangoy International Airport (Davao International Airport) at 1:25 p.m. local time and arrives at Quanzhou at 4:50 p.m. The estimated travel time is 3 hours and 25 minutes.
The first Quanzhou-Davao flight took off on October 29 at 8:45 a.m. from Jinjiang Airport and landed around 12:25 p.m. at Francisco Bangoy International Airport.
It can be noted that during Davao City and Jinjiang, China’s five-year anniversary celebration as sister cities last September 28, resumptions of direct flights were also agreed upon. The celebration was led by Quanzhou City Mayor Cai Zhansheng and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte.
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines-Davao Region (CAAP-Davao) acting manager Rex A. Obcena earlier revealed the resumption of Davao-Quanzhou flight. He said Xiamen Air from China will restart its service on the Davao-Jinjiang air route, with initial discussions to gauge the market demand.
He also expressed optimism that based on the load factor observed in 2019, Xiamen Air may recognize the potential and expand its operations accordingly.
Currently, international routes serving Davao are Singapore-Davao-Singapore, operated by Singapore Airlines, Scoot, and Cebu Pacific. Before the pandemic, Davao had other global air connections, including Hong Kong, served by Cathay Dragon and Manado, Indonesia, via Garuda Indonesia.
The Doha-Davao-Doha flight, meanwhile, will be every Saturday and served by the Boeing 787-8. It will be a triangular route with a stopover in Cebu City. ICE