PAL flies to / from new Iloilo Airport from 14 June 2007

Philippine Airlines will operate all its four flights daily to Iloilo via the new Iloilo Airport in Santa Barbara-Cabatuan from June 14, 2007.

A day earlier (June 13), President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo formally inaugurates the airport. She will also be the guest of honor at the opening of PAL's Mabuhay Lounge at the new facility. PAL president Jaime J. Bautista and Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza then co-host lunch for President Arroyo and her party at the lounge.

Also on June 13, PAL ends its operations at the city's old airport in Mandurriao district, with the last PAL flight (PR 146) departing Mandurriao airport at 7:20 p.m.

From June 14, PAL passengers and cargo customers in Iloilo are advised to proceed to the new airport, located at Barangay Duyan Duyan in the municipality of Cabatuan, Iloilo province. The facility is situated at the juncture of Santa Barbara and Cabatuan towns, about 19 kilometers north of Iloilo City.

All PAL flights to and from Iloilo will follow previously published schedules. New-generation Airbus A320 and A319 aircraft will continue to be deployed on the route.

PAL will be operating one of the first commercial flights to the new airport on June 14. Flight PR 139, using an A320, is scheduled to depart Manila at 5:10 a.m. and touch down at the modern, international-class gateway at 6:20 a.m.

PAL first flew to Iloilo in February 1946, the city being one of the flag carrier's pioneer destinations. A Douglas DC-3 was deployed on the inaugural flight.

Today, Iloilo is the third-busiest station in the PAL domestic network next to Cebu and Davao, with four flights daily, from early morning to evening. The city is connected to PAL's 17 domestic and 24 international points via the airline's hub in Manila.

PAL's telephone numbers at the new Iloilo Airport are: ticket office - (033) 333-0003; cargo - (033) 333-0011; reservations - (033) 333-0004; and check-in - (033) 333-0013. The airline will maintain its old telephone numbers for reservations, (033) 320-3030 and 320-3131, until further notice. However, the previous numbers for cargo (508-7176) and check-in (321-2805) shall no longer be in use from June 14, 2007.

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