LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte -- Ilokano travelers and tourists can now easily travel from Ilocos Norte to Manila and vice versa with the resumption of the Cebu Pacific flights at the Laoag International Airport (LIA) on Monday here. The provincial government of Ilocos Norte, through Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc, with the joint efforts of the Metro Ilocos Norte Council (MINC) and Ilocos Norte Tourism Office, has successfully collaborated with CEB to return a daily flight to and from Ilocos Norte. “The resumption of Cebu Pacific's operation in the LIA will streamline the transport of goods, especially Ilocos Norte's agricultural products including the expansion of the market for many industries,” said Manotoc. “We hope that more airlines will follow suit as we continue to work together to revitalize our economy by opening and providing more livelihood opportunities for our kakailian (province mates) to bring back the vibrancy of Ilocos Norte,” he added. Ilocos Norte lauded CEB’s initiatives to boost the province’s tourism industry and encourage more people to travel to Laoag and the rest of the Ilocos Region. "We are thrilled to welcome Cebu Pacific back to our province, as this signals a renewed hope for our tourism industry,” said Manotoc. CEB has over 30 domestic destinations and is one of the biggest partners in the tourism industry. It has a wide network in the country that offers multiple flights from Manila to local and international destinations with affordable fares. Michael Ivan S. Shau, the CEB chief corporate affairs officer, cited the hands-on efforts of Governor Manotoc in bringing back the CEB flights to and from LIA. “I would like to acknowledge the hands-on action that Governor Manotoc himself did. He came to visit us twice, no less. The first is with Mr. Perry and Atty. Nikky, he did the roadwork on how we could have established the re-launching of this route,” Shau said. “At that time, we had logistical issues on aircraft deliveries, [and] the Governor was pretty patient and understanding. We promised that we would fly, and we were able to do so today with his personal intervention,” Shau added. With this new route, Shau said the Ilokano traveler will also enable to conveniently visit 29 local destinations, including Boracay, Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Bacolod, Zamboanga, Iloilo, and Davao. Travelers from the Ilocos Region may now connect from Manila to 23 international destinations on the airline's network, including Hong Kong, Bangkok, Melbourne, Dubai, Narita, Sydney, Singapore, and Taipei. For the first six months of its re-launching, CEB will offer at least P599 as a base fare. During the successful inaugural flight on Monday, the Communications and Media Office (CMO) of the provincial capitol reported that CEB catered to 289 passengers with 140 arrivals and 149 departures. “We are excited to fly again to Laoag as we continue to grow our domestic network and provide accessible and affordable air travel to every Juan. The relaunch of this route will also strengthen Laoag’s position as a leading tourism and cultural hub in north Luzon,” said Xander Lao, Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer. Lao said that CEB is firmly in place for a full recovery and is set to exceed its pre-COVID network and capacity, aided by its seat sales, widest domestic network, and reinstatement of its international destinations.