PAL Express to resume Davao flights to Iloilo, Bohol

Aviation Updates Philippines – National flag carrier, Philippine Airlines, plans to resume domestic air services from Davao to Iloilo and Bohol.

Beginning July 16, PAL Express will mount once-weekly flights between Davao and Bohol. Scheduled only every Thursday, 2P-2372 will depart from Davao at 10:50 am and arrive in Bohol at 12:05 pm. The return flight, 2P-2373, will depart from Bohol at 12:35 pm and come back to Davao at 1:50 pm.

On the other hand, PAL Express will also mount once-weekly flights from Davao to Iloilo every Friday. 2P-2539 will depart from Davao at 6:30 am and will arrive in Iloilo at 8:20 am. After a 20-minute turnaround, 2P-2540 will head to Davao at 8:40 am and arrive at 10:30 am.

All flights to Bohol and Iloilo will be operated by its 86-seat De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 (Q400 NextGen).

As of the moment, Philippine Airlines flies from Manila to Davao twice weekly (Monday and Thursday), from Cebu to Davao once-weekly (Tuesday); and from Clark to Davao once-weekly (Friday).

The local government has slightly relaxed air travel regulations based on assessments made since the resumption of flights last month. The City Government of Davao has noted the increasing passenger demand for air travel.

In a SunStar Philippines report, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said last month the City Government of Davao had endorsed additional flights between Manila and Davao. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) eventually approved the other frequencies.

Previously, local airlines were only allowed to operate once-weekly flights from Manila and Cebu. The local government has later expanded this to at least twice-weekly. Before the pandemic, airlines have operated around 20 daily flights between Manila and Davao.

Photo from Dirk Salcedo, AUP