Cebu Pacific turboprops fully moved to Clark by March

Cebu Pacific intends to wrap up the transfer of all its turboprop operations out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in March. This is part of efforts to ease congestion at the country’s primary gateway.

On Thursday, the Gokongwei-led low-cost carrier announced that all its remaining turboprop flights will be transferred to the Clark International Airport in Pampanga by March 29. This is part of the final phase of the nearly two-year phaseout program.

These include Coron (Busuanga) and Naga flights operated by Cebgo and El Nido services operated by AirSwift.

Cebgo is the airline’s regional brand and AirSwift is a wholly owned subsidiary.

The Busuanga and Naga routes are currently served from Naia Terminal 2.

Passengers with existing bookings will be given options to rebook, seek refunds or convert tickets into travel fund credits, the airline said.

Cebu Pacific flights that had been earlier transferred to Clark include routes to Masbate, Siargao, Naga (Camarines Sur) and San Jose (Mindoro).

Cebu Pacific said the transfer will free up slots at Naia, allowing it to increase the frequency of several routes from Manila to meet rising demand.

These include flights to Bacolod, which will increase to 63 weekly from 56; Butuan to 46 from 39; Cagayan de Oro to 69 from 62; and Cebu to 108 from 98.

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There will now be 90 flights a week to Davao from 81; Dumaguete to 42 from 38; Ozamiz to 14 from 11; Tacloban to 49 from 42; and Zamboanga to 45 from 38.

International services will also expand. Hong Kong flights will rise to 35 weekly from 28. The Kaohsiung route will operate five times a week, up from three.

Cebu Pacific’s turboprop transfer follows a directive from the Manila Slot Coordinating Committee.

It ordered a gradual phaseout of turboprop operations at Naia beginning December 2024 to improve air traffic flow and reduce congestion.