Philippine Airlines restarts flights to Beijing and Shanghai

Philippine Airlines is resuming direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai, the carrier said Wednesday, following a roughly three-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The flag carrier began offering three round trips a week between Manila and Shanghai on Tuesday, and will offer two between Manila and Beijing starting Feb. 21. On March 26, it expands service on these routes to daily Shanghai flights and four Beijing flights a week. Philippine Airlines already has resumed flights to the southern Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Xiamen. "We hope that our relaunch of flights to Beijing and Shanghai will fuel a rebound in tourist and business travel," President and COO Stanley Ng said. The Philippines attracted many tourists from China before COVID-19. The airline wants to tap this demand once again as pandemic travel restrictions ease. It plans to resume flights to and from Macao, and to expand service on existing Chinese routes as well. The Philippines reopened to foreign tourists in 2022. Its Department of Tourism aims to boost traffic by over 80% in 2023 to 4.8m visitors.<br/>