Ready your passports! Philippines to have direct flights to France beginning December
Traveling to France just got a whole lot easier!
The Department of Transportation has announced that French-Dutch multinational airline Air France KLM will be having direct flights between Manila and Paris starting on Dec. 8.
"I think this is quite an important one, I think it’s an announcement that will make Filipinos happy because they will be able to fly non-stop from the Philippines to Paris and from Paris to the Philippines," Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista said during a Palace briefing.
The flights, which will be available on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday every week, are expected to "boost trade and tourism exchanges between our two countries."
Femke Kroese, general manager of Air France KLM for Southeast Asia and Oceania, noted that there will be "competitive fares for the Filipino community to travel to Paris." They will also be launching promotional fares in the next period.
She detailed that the flights are scheduled in the evening and will take approximately 14 hours, so Filipino travelers will arrive in Paris in the morning and have the whole day to explore.
During the trip, champagne will be served to all passengers so that they will be arriving in the country "in style."
French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel meanwhile regarded the start of the direct flights as a "Christmas wish" from Filipinos and French nationals alike.
In terms of foreign direct investment, the route will help in "removing a psychological barrier to trade and boosting the interest of French and European investors in a particularly dynamic Philippine market."
The flights come after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines signed an agreement with France "to assist our agency for capacity building and improving safety and efficiency in managing the civil aviation," according to Bautista.
Flights will go on sale on Sept. 10, or just three months before its inaugural flight.