The Philippine resort island of Boracay will soon be accessible via new evening flights operated by low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific.

Commencing on 1 July 2017, the airline will mount two additional daily flights between Manila and Caticlan, the gateway to Boracay. This will make Cebu Pacific the first carrier to operate after-dark flights to Caticlan’s Godofredo P. Ramos Airport, following the installation of new navigational equipment and upgraded air traffic control systems at the hub.

The new flights will be operated by Cebu Pacific’s domestic subsidiary, Cebgo, using its ATR turboprop aircraft. At present, the last Caticlan-Manila flight of the day takes off at 1710, but under the new schedule the final Caticlan departure will be at 2045.

“We thank CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) for continually leading the scale-up of our airports to night-flying capability,” said Atty JR Mantaring, Cebu Pacific’s vice president of corporate affairs.

“We believe that expansion of operating times will not only boost frequencies to key domestic routes, but it will also give travellers more options, greater flexibility on when they fly and also help decongest air traffic, especially during the peak flying hours at noon and early afternoon.

“The mounting of evening flights to and from Boracay was a long-standing request of tourism stakeholders. More frequency will also mean more passengers being able to avail of our lowest year-round fares,” he added.

In total, Cebu Pacific operates 39 flights weekly to Caticlan from Manila, along with 14 from Cebu and seven from Clark. The additional night flights will boost the airline’s total services to Boracay to 72 flights per week.