BASCO, Batanes, Philippines – The lack of flights to this island-province is expected to be finally solved as the government gave the go-signal for a new airline to fly here.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines granted last Friday an aircraft operator certificate to Skyjet Air, allowing the airline to start its Batanes flights on Dec. 14, Skyjet president and chief executive officer Joel Mendoza Jr. said yesterday.
Mendoza said Skyjet has two British-made BAE-146 airplanes. Each airplane can accommodate 94 passengers.
The airline had flown the Manila-Basco-Manila air route using a chartered plane by the Batanes Cultural Travel Agency (BCTA).
Skyjet has accredited BCTA to handle its ground operations and is now accepting bookings.
Meanwhile, South East Asia Airline also conducted its probing flight last Nov. 11. If granted authority by CAAP, the Batanes Multi-Purpose Cooperative will handle its operations.
It is not yet known when its flights to Batanes will start.