Qatar Airways set to cancel Philippines route

Qatar Airways is to cease flights to Cebu in the Philippines next month due to rising fuel costs and high operating expenses, it has been reported.

The route will be cancelled from March 26, according to an advisory sent to its partners and clients, the Manila Bulletin reported.

It said passengers with flights after March 26 would be provided with alternative flights like the Manila-Doha route that flies twice-weekly.

The newspaper said local tourism chiefs hoped Qatar Airways, which flies from Doha to Cebu three times per week, could still reconsider the decision.

Rowena Montecillo, director for Central Visayas at the Department of Tourism, was quoted as saying: “We acknowledge that this is a business decision but I personally would want to know the problems of the airlines, so we’ll know how government and the private sector can help."

She added that she has scheduled a meeting with Qatar Airways management in the next week to discuss the issue.

She said the Cebu-Doha route played a significant role in the growth of arrivals by European visitors coming to Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas.

The Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) is also appealing for Qatar Airways to not suspend its Cebu-Doha flights, the paper said.

It quoted president Hans Hauri as saying: “The HRRAC is making an appeal to Qatar Airways Management for a reconsideration as we need their service for our connection to and from Europe."

Earlier this month, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker warned that the airline will re-consider flying to the Maldives if airport operator GMR goes ahead with plans to raise airport handling fees at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) by 51 percent.

The Gulf state's flagship carrier said it was "dismayed" to learn of the Male International Airport operator's plan, adding that the increase would "threaten Qatar Airways' continued presence in the Maldives."

Al Baker said in a statement published by the Maldives-based Minivan News that the planned increases were "totally unreasonable".