A Cebu Pacific Air flight carrying 177 passengers from Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, arrived in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang at 9:30 pm on Thursday, marking the launch of direct air service between the two places.

Cebu Pacific Air, a low-cost Philippine carrier, will operate three weekly flights on the route on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, using A320NEO aircraft which can accommodate 188 passengers each.

Authorities in Da Nang, comprising local officials from the Da Nang Department of Tourism and the Middle Airports Authority, held an event to welcome passengers aboard the Manila-Da Nang flight.

All of the passengers were presented with souvenirs and vouchers to use entertainment services in the coastal city, aside from enjoying music performances.

Cebu Pacific Air also gave vouchers as round-trip air tickets on the Manila-Da Nang route to the three luckiest passengers.

The Philippines is among the new and potential source markets for the tourism sector in Da Nang, said Tran Chi Cuong, vice-chairman of the municipal administration.

He said the launch of the Manila-Da Nang direct route was a fruitful outcome of Routes Asia 2022, a route development forum for Asia that was hosted by Da Nang in June last year.

Thanks to this forum, the central Vietnamese city managed to connect and work with Cebu Pacific Air to roll out the Manila-Da Nang air link, deemed a catalyst for efforts to revive tourism and diversify Da Nang's tourism source markets.

The Vietnamese city is set to resume air routes and open new services linking with its key markets such as Indonesia, India, and China to draw more international visitors.

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