Government working to open PH-Belgium direct flights

PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the Philippine government is working with the airport authorities of Brussels in Belgium for the possible opening of direct flights to and from the country.

Following a meeting with the concerned airport authorities of Brussels on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations- European Union (Asean-EU) commemorative summit, Marcos said Europeans visiting Asia particularly in the southeast portion may soon use Manila as an entry point, while Filipinos heading to Europe may fly directly to Belgium to access other destinations particularly in the western area.

He said the idea of opening direct flights to and from the Philippines to Brussels came from the chief airport official of the European country who showed great interest in gaining a foothold in the Philippines.

“We are working on the opportunity to have a direct flight between Manila and Brussels... And we think that basically there is a win-win for both countries to be connected directly,” Brussels Airport Company Chief Executive Officer Arnaud Feist said.

Marcos was elated by the idea, saying it would give Filipinos the opportunity to explore what Belgium and the rest of western Europe have to offer.

“When we talk about Brussels in our mind, it’s really Western Europe because, very clearly, Brussels is the center of that. And that is something of great interest,” Marcos said.

“The pent-up demand over the pandemic is now beginning to show itself, and the demand for air travel has actually increased a great deal more quickly than any had expected,” he added.

Philippine Airlines President and Chief Operating Officer Stanley Ng said they were also “very interested” in providing accessibility to Filipinos to the whole European nation as well as bringing more tourists from Europe to the Philippines.

“That’s really the vision that we are excited to see. We want to improve the economic activities in the Philippines and also here,” Ng said. (SunStar Philippines)