Budget carrier AirAsia Philippines is beefing up its route network with the addition of Tokyo as its 10th active international destination and the transfer of some of its flights to Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).
The airline will start flying between Manila and Tokyo (Narita) on February 1, 2023, complementing its latest Japanese destination, Osaka, which will be launched on December 6.
“Our goal is to empower more Filipinos to travel and immerse in the diverse cultures of our country’s regions and our Asean neighbors. We are confident that Osaka and Tokyo have a high potential of being among our top-preferred international destinations. By adding our Manila-Tokyo route, we are well positioned to achieve full recovery for international operations early next year,” AirAsia Philippine CEO Ricky Isla said.
With the addition of Tokyo, AirAsia Philippines will have an international route network composed of 10 destinations, namely: Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Bangkok, Singapore, Taipei, Osaka, Incheon, Hong Kong and Bali.
In a related development, the carrier said its flights from Manila to Cebu and Caticlan are being transferred to Naia Terminal 3 due to the growing holiday-driven traffic.
The transfer, which will start on December 16, is expected to significantly ease the queues and passenger load at the much-smaller Naia Terminal 4 where the airline operates the remainder of its domestic flights.
A total of 109 combined weekly flights will be transferred to Naia Terminal 3, set to be operated alongside all the international flights of AirAsia Philippines. “The exponential growth in the holiday demand this year is expected, especially given the fact that travel restrictions today are way more relaxed compared to the previous years. We are optimistic that by moving our busiest domestic flights to Naia Terminal 3, we get to alleviate the travel woes of our kababayans in aspects such as queuing, waiting and boarding,” Isla said.