Philippine Airlines (PAL) re-opens direct flights between Manila and Guangzhou (Canton) this Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, gearing up to resume its regular passenger services to Mainland China.
The flag carrier will operate an initial once weekly flight every Saturday to Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport.
This paves the way for the full restoration of PAL'S pre-pandemic flight frequencies according to Vice President for Network Planning Christoph Gaertner.
"By adding Guangzhou to our roster of operated flights, we are connecting to the world’s second largest economy and enhancing friendly ties between China and the Philippines,” he added.
The PAL flights to and from Guangzhou offer travelers early morning departures.
PR 382 Manila-Guangzhou departs Manila at 03:35 AM, every Saturday, arriving in Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at 06:10 AM.
PR 383 Guangzhou-Manila departs Guangzhou at 08:40 AM,every Saturday, arriving in Manila at 11:10 AM (there will be adjusted timings starting January 28, 2023 – PR 383 departure will be at 07:10 AM, arriving in Manila at 09:35 AM)
For the Guangzhou route, the flag carrier will deploy Airbus A330-300 (capacity: 309 to 363 seats) and Airbus A321ceo aircraft (capacity: 199 seats).
As part of a gradual restoration of services to Mainland China, PAL also resumed flying between Manila and Xiamen today, January 13, 2023, initially with one flight
per week.
For its calibrated step by step resumption of flights to the Chinese mainland, PAL is working closely with Chinese and Philippine health and aviation authorities to ensure the highest level of health safety protections for travelers.
“We uphold the highest standards of safety in all our flights. Aircraft surfaces are disinfected before and after every journey, and high efficiency particulate (HEPA) air filters cleanse the cabin air of bacteria and viruses with 99.99% efficacy,” says Gaertner.
“As always, our passengers will need to comply with any arrival testing protocols implemented by the Philippine and Chinese governments.”
Prior to the pandemic, the flag carrier served the mainland Chinese cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Quanzhou (Jinjiang) and Xiamen for a total of 34 weekly flights.
From March 2020 up to the present, PAL operated regular and ad hoc all-cargo and charter flights to mainland China, including passenger charters to Tianjin and vaccine transport flights.